Medford, Mass. -- The University of Lynchburg men's lacrosse team takes on Tufts University on Saturday, May 20 in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
Watch a preview interview with Jake Rust and Finn Schmidt here.
After earning an at-large bid into the championship tournament, Lynchburg went on the road to Granville, Ohio and won its second and third round contests. The Hornets defeated St. John Fisher in the second round with an overtime goal from Riley Mitchell. The next day, Dylan Wolfe scored five goals as the Hornets defeated No. 13 and host of the four-team pod Denison.
Tufts is the No. 1-ranked team in Division III with a 20-0 record. The Jumbos defeated Lynchburg on Tuesday, March 14 on a snowy Bello Field in Medford during the regular season.
Conditions once again will not be ideal as the forecast calls for thunderstorms all afternoon on-site at the NCAA quarterfinal hosted by Tufts. No. 3 RIT and No. 5 Middlebury also play on Tufts' campus Saturday for a chance at the semifinal Sunday. The final team remaining from this side of the bracket will play for a national championship on Saturday, May 27 in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Hornets flew to Massachusetts Thursday morning and have been practicing ahead of the big matchup Saturday. See photos from Thursday here and Friday here.
Lynchburg played for a national championship against Tufts in 2015. Lynchburg makes its sixth-quarterfinal appearance in the program's 16th trip to the NCAA tournament.
Lynchburg is 15-15 in NCAA tournament games: the best winning percentage from any Old Dominion Athletic Conference school.
The USA Lacrosse Magazine released the first round of DIII All-Americans, and Lynchburg's leading scorer, Mitchell, earned third-team honors. Chris Darminio, Tyler Hadley, Cole Nestor, and Wolfe were tabbed as honorable mention honorees.
Watch Lynchburg take on Tufts in the quarterfinal here at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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--LYN--
