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Men's Lacrosse May 3, 2017

CU Men's Lacrosse Preview - Liberty League Semifinals vs. RIT (5/5)

Back in late-March, the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team became the first Liberty League squad to upend RIT since 2012, and now the Golden Knights will look for a repeat performance on Friday when the two teams clash in the Liberty League Semifinals at 4:00 pm in Rochester, NY.

The Golden Knights enter the game with a record of 9-5 overall and achieved the fourth seed after winning a do-or-done game against Rensselaer last weekend. RIT, ranked third in the country entering the Liberty League Tournament, is 14-2 overall with losses to only Clarkson and Dickinson College in 2017. The Tigers are 7-1 against ranked teams and did not take kindly to the loss to the Golden Knights, having averaged 20.1 goals per game over the last nine contests, including 24 goals per contest in the last three.

The difference in Clarkson's 9-6 win over RIT in March was senior goalkeeper Nick Strandholm. The Tigers hadn't been held to fewer than seven goals in a stretch of 159 games (March 2009) and that was in large part due to Strandholm's 21 saves on the Tigers' 27 shots on goal. RIT outshot Clarkson 50-32 in the game, but the Knights went 3-for-7 when a man up. Strandholm owns a 9.03 goals against average and a .544 save percentage with 135 saves and 28 groundballs. Besides Strandholm, the Clarkson defense did a good job against the Tigers as nearly half of their shots went outside the pipes, and RIT suffered through a 23-minute, 51-second stretch in the second half without a goal. Seniors Justin Gibson (20 groundballs, 17 caused turnovers) and Marc Simmons (36 groundballs) as well as sophomore Thomas Stanton (13 groundballs, 6 caused turnovers) used their big frames to make things more difficult.

Offensively, Clarkson has been led by its senior Ryans, with Ryan DaRin producing a team-high 51 points on 42 goals and 9 assists and Ryan St. Croix ranking second on the team in points with 38, thanks to 30 goals and 8 assists. Classmate Kyle Brown has also enjoyed a good year with 31 points on 24 goals and 7 assists to rank fourth on the team in scoring, just behind freshman Conor Bartlett's 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists). Fellow freshman Ryan Gabriel has made a different impact for the Knights, claiming 60 groundballs and a .601 win percentage on faceoffs (173-288). Junior Mark Uhlig has been a frequent beneficiary of those wins, scooping up 44 groundballs, which trails only Gabriel in that category for Clarkson.

The Tigers will almost certainly not be held to six goals again, as RIT's high-powered offense ranks sixth in the nation (16.81 goals per game). Senior Ryan Lee was held to just one assist against Clarkson in the first game, but he has more than made up for that one game deficiency with 73 other points thanks to 42 goals and 32 assists. Lee is the active leader in NCAA Division III in goals (214) and points (335) and in neither case is anyone particularly close. He is helped out by Chad Levick (40-22-62), Braden Wallace (240-16-40), Kyle Killen (20-16-36) and Brendan McDonald (21-7-28), as each have recorded at least 20 goals this year. The Tigers' defense has also been solid in front of goalkeeper Nick Nesbitt (9.73 goals against average, .552 save percentage). J.D. Hall has 35 groundballs and a team-best 23 caused turnovers, while Patrick Hannigan (49 groundballs, 21 caused turnovers), Eli Salama (34 groundballs, 20 caused turnovers) and Ben Tackett (48 groundballs, 17 caused turnovers) have done their part on defense. Challenging Clarkson's Ryan Gabriel on faceoffs will be the duo of Jimmy Spillane and Steven Ricci. Spillane has won more faceoffs (141-for-260, .542), but Ricci has the higher percentage (.626, 77-for-123) and often picks up the ball from the start (45 groundballs).




 

 
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Players Mentioned

Kyle Brown

#37 Kyle Brown

M
6' 1"
Senior
Ryan DaRin

#17 Ryan DaRin

A
5' 10"
Senior
Justin Gibson

#44 Justin Gibson

D
6' 4"
Senior
Marc Simmons

#16 Marc Simmons

M
6' 2"
Senior
Ryan St. Croix

#7 Ryan St. Croix

M
6' 3"
Senior
Thomas Stanton

#33 Thomas Stanton

D
6' 4"
Sophomore
Nick Strandholm

#4 Nick Strandholm

GK
6' 0"
Senior
Mark Uhlig

#1 Mark Uhlig

M
5' 11"
Junior
Conor Bartlett

#2 Conor Bartlett

M
5' 7"
Freshman
Ryan Gabriel

#21 Ryan Gabriel

M
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kyle Brown

#37 Kyle Brown

6' 1"
Senior
M
Ryan DaRin

#17 Ryan DaRin

5' 10"
Senior
A
Justin Gibson

#44 Justin Gibson

6' 4"
Senior
D
Marc Simmons

#16 Marc Simmons

6' 2"
Senior
M
Ryan St. Croix

#7 Ryan St. Croix

6' 3"
Senior
M
Thomas Stanton

#33 Thomas Stanton

6' 4"
Sophomore
D
Nick Strandholm

#4 Nick Strandholm

6' 0"
Senior
GK
Mark Uhlig

#1 Mark Uhlig

5' 11"
Junior
M
Conor Bartlett

#2 Conor Bartlett

5' 7"
Freshman
M
Ryan Gabriel

#21 Ryan Gabriel

5' 9"
Freshman
M