RIT and Bowdoin Clinch First Two NCAA Men’s DIII Semifinal Spots

Bowdoin and RIT are headed to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Division III semifinals after posting wins on Friday, but they won’t have much time to savor the victories. They’ll meet on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Brunswick, Maine for the right to head to Charlottesville, Va., for next week's national championship game.

• NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship Bracket

Bowdoin, which set a school record with its 19th victory of the season, ended Hope’s Cinderella run with a 20-7 victory. It was Hope’s first loss of the season.

The Polar Bears led from start to finish and Huck Trafton led a balanced effort with four goals and an assist. Hudson Greene and Troy Ulisney each added hat tricks. Bowdoin dominated possession, winning 26 of 31 faceoffs behind strong efforts from Phoenix Kelly-Zuckerman (12 of 15), Cam Wietfeldt (8 of 9) and Alex Choi (5 of 6).

Gibson Heethuis had a goal and four assists for Hope to finish his season with 138 points in 21 games. Jack Balmforth made 19 saves. 

RIT got monster nights from Erich Acton and Ryan Sanders in a 21-14 victory over Babson in Friday's other quarterfinal. Acton had a career-high seven goals and added three assists while Sanders had four goals and seven assists for an 11-point night.

Sanders, a sophomore attackman from California, now has 24 points in RIT’s three NCAA tournament games. RIT’s defense forced Babson into 22 turnovers, including nine failed clears.

The Tigers, the 2021 and 2022 national champion, have reached the semifinal round in each of the last six seasons.

The other half of the quarterfinal bracket begins play on Saturday with two-time reigning NCAA champion Tufts hosting York College. That game will be followed by Christopher Newport playing Wesleyan.