EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – The second-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse looks to capture its 13th title in program history as the Sea Gulls clash with the top-ranked RIT Tigers in the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Sunday, May 30.
THE RUNDOWN
VIDEO
FULL GAME NOTES
TICKET INFORMATION
CHAMPIONSHIPS HOMEPAGE
SETTING THE STAGE
Salisbury rolled through the competition on the way to its 19th NCAA Championship appearance. Salisbury started the run with a dominating 30-5 victory on May 15 over SUNY-Poly in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A day later, SU avenged the 2019 semifinal loss with a 16-5 win over Cabrini in the second round to advance to the national quarterfinals. The maroon and gold returned home and scored a 30-5 thrashing over the Illinois Wesleyan Titans in the quarters before defeating Christopher Newport for the fourth time, 18-8, in the national semifinals.
As the top-seeded team in the tournament, RIT earned the only bye in the 2021 tournament. The Tigers steamrolled the Cortland Red Dragons to the tune of a 25-6 scoreline in the NCAA Second Round on May 16. RIT pulled away late from Colorado College to earn a 19-13 win in a "Battle of the Tigers" in the national quarterfinals. RIT trailed 9-5 in the middle of the second quarter against Tufts in the other semifinal matchup before coming back with a pair of scoring runs to take down the Jumbos, 18- 16, to advance to the program's third national title game.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
Salisbury and RIT have met one other time in history, with the Sea Gulls emerging victorious, 15-7 in the 2017 National Championship game on May 28, 2017. It is also Salisbury's last NCAA Championship victory.
Josh Melton and Drew Borkowicz played in the 2017 title game for Salisbury. Melton netted a hat trick, including the goal that gave Salisbury the 2-1 lead in the first quarter. Current assistant coaches Nick Garbarino and Aaron Leeds were players in the contest. Garbarino netted a goal and caused a turnover while Leeds dished out an assist and forced a pair of Tiger turnovers.
Carson Kalama tallied four goals and an assist in the game to earn the game's Most Outstanding Player award. Colin Reymann made 12 saves in the contest to notch the tournament's M.O.P. award.
On RIT, two players on the 2021 team played in the 2017 game including defender Alex Maruna and midfielder Ryan Agedal.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE
A Salisbury win on Sunday would tie Hobart's 13 national championships, which is the most men's titles across all three NCAA divisions. RIT is looking for its first national title on Sunday.
