Interactive Bracket

TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team, coming off winning the Liberty League Tournament and earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, will play either Middlebury College or Goucher College on Saturday in the second round of the 23-team event that determines the Division III National Champion.  A time for the game, which will be played in the East Campus Stadium, is to be determined.

The Engineers, who are 14-2 and ranked 15th nationally, will play in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history and the first time at home. Their opponent will be determined on Wednesday, which is when Middlebury (11-5), the 16th-ranked team, and Goucher (14-3) meet.

In its other two NCAA appearances, Rensselaer, which is coached by Jim Townsend, traveled to Washington College in 2000, losing 15-6, and then advanced to the Quarterfinals in 2001. That season they defeated SUNY Cortland, 9-7, before losing to Nazareth, 15-14.

The 2010 RPI team is one of the stingiest in the nation, allowing just 5.53 goals per game. Freshman goaltender James Manchester (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) has a personal record of 14-2 with a 5.44 goals against average and a .651 save percentage. He was selected as the Liberty League Rookie of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the Liberty League Tournament when he stopped 24 shots and allowed just six goals in 105:00 in two games.

Offensively, the Engineers, who have won eight of their last nine games, average 10.57 goals per game. They feature four players who have at least 30 points, led by junior attack Nick Billy (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow), who has 43 points on 26 goals and 17 assists. He is followed by senior midfielder Paul Cerone (Ritchfield, CT/Ritchfield), who is first in assists (21) and second in points (35).

The team's leading goal scorer is senior midfielder Bryant Johnson (Minnetonka, MN/The Blake School), who has 30 goals and four assists for 34 points. Senior attack Devin Arnold (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) rounds out the group with 33 points (22 goals, 11 assists).

Arnold and Johnson, along with sophomore attack Andrew Miller (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and sophomore defender Tyler Hutchinson (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), joined Manchester on the Liberty League All-Tournament Team. RPI defeated St. Lawrence, 9-5, in Friday's semifinal and Skidmore, 14-4, in Sunday's finals.

Middlebury, which finished second in the NESCAC Tournament, is one of the two teams to defeat Rensselaer, having taken down the Engineers, 9-6 on April 20 in Troy. RPI did not play Goucher, champions of the Landmark Conference, this season.

RPI has one NCAA National Championship to its credit, having earned the distinction in 1952.