CU Men's Lacrosse Preview - at RIT (3/7)

3/5/2020 7:00:00 AM

By: March 5, 2020

As of the most recent poll, three Liberty League teams were ranked in the top 20 in NCAA Division III, but the biggest test for all of them, including the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team, is RIT, the Golden Knights' opponent this Saturday when the conference opens up league play.

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The Series: Clarkson remains the only team to beat RIT in the Liberty League in the past seven seasons, with only RPI joining the Golden Knights as a conference team to beat the Tigers since the school joined the Liberty League in the 2011-12 academic year. The Golden Knights downed RIT 9-6 in March 2017, but have lost three straight since, including a playoff contest, all by double digits.

Key Stats for Clarkson (2-0): Some big offensive numbers have been posted in the conference already this year, and the Golden Knights rank second in the early going in scoring at 18.50 goals per game while allowing just 4.50 goals per contest. Senior Conor Bartlett became the 12th member of Clarkson's 150-point club on Tuesday and he needs just three more points to tie for 10th in scoring in program history. In the last three regular-season games, Bartlett has scored four goals and four assists for eight points versus RIT, while classmate Evan Burgett has four goals in the last two meetings, including three goals and six groundballs against the Tigers last year.

Key Stats for RIT (3-0): The Tigers, ranked fifth in the latest poll, will face four top-15 ranked teams in the two weeks following their game against the Knights. The difference in the last two games against Clarkson for RIT has been in the subtle advantages. They have out shot Clarkson by an average of 11.5 per game, including a 10.5 edge in shots on goal, gathered 16.5 more groundballs per game, and won close to two-thirds of the faceoffs, all of which add weight on offense. Dawson Tait leads the team in scoring with 15 points on nine goals and six assists and Ryan Barnable has contributed 13 points with seven goals and six assists. Nick Montemorano has won 76.5% of his chances at the 'x' and routinely gets the groundball himself, averaging more than 10 pickups per game.

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