Men's lacrosse NCAA Tournament Information

Photo courtesy of Chloe Howell

With an 11-5 victory over Trine University on Friday, the Albion College men's lacrosse team clinched the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. With that, the Britons will head to Grove City College for a First Round game on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Albion became the first ever 3-seed to win the conference tournament championship. This is the sixth time in program history the Britons advance to the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2022.

ABOUT THE WOLVERINES (13-7 Overall, 8-0 PAC)

Coming off their sixth straight PAC title, the Wolverines are led by senior Zachary Hougan's 82 points (47 goals, 35 assists). Matt Blythe has added 40 goals and Stewart McClain's 35 goals are good for third on the team.

Three players have taken at least 100 faceoffs for Grove City, as the team boasts a win percentage a tick under 70 percent for the season. The 69.2 percentage is good for sixth in Division III.

Danny Stone leads the Wolverine goalies, coming into the tournament with a 7-7 overall record. He has recorded 164 saves and sports a save percentage of 54.3 percent.

ABOUT THE BRITONS (12-8 Overall, 4-2 MIAA)

Cal Stearns is the motor behind a fire-powered offense, leading Albion with 51 goals and 11 assists. Senior attackers Brendan Mercier (38 goals, 20 assists) and Andrew Miller (34 goals, 19 assists) bring veteranship to the front line, joined by MIAA Rookie of the Year, Luke Schuemann.

The defense is led by junior Logan Bride's 44 caused turnovers and 89 ground balls. Ben Schollett, Will Tessin and Carter Kildea have been locking it down as well, alongside short sticks Ethan Barker and Jackson Taylor.

Caleb Howell and Jack Erickson have combined for all 120 minutes in goal over the last two games. In Friday's championship game, Howell recorded a 75 percent save percentage, collecting nine saves and allowing just three Thunder goals.

Freshman Connor Laidlaw has been the main faceoff man for the Brits this season. In the MIAA Tournament, he finished with a win percentage over 60 percent and picked up 23 ground balls. In the championship game, he won 11 of 19 against the leader in the MIAA.

NOTABLES

Clicking at the right time, the Britons are winners of three straight – all coming in the MIAA Tournament. Behind Mercier's 11 points, senior Keegan Pastor has been wonderful in postseason play, scoring seven goals over the last three games.

Grove City has won four straight and has won eight of their last nine games. Despite advancing to the last five NCAA Tournaments, the Wolverines have never hosted a First Round contest.

Wednesday's matchup will be the first-ever between the two teams in program history. Grove City rolled through the PAC Tournament, knocking off Westminster (26-7) and Chatham (22-7).

Links for tickets, live stats, live video and other information will be posted when it becomes available.

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