(Story courtesy of the Colorado College Sports Information Department)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 16/14 Colorado College men's lacrosse team earned the program's eighth appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship and will face Transylvania University in a first-round game on Saturday, May 15, at 11 a.m. MT in Danville, Ky.
The Tigers earned an at-large berth in the 31-team field after completing the regular season with a 11-3 record. In its most recent contest on May 2, Colorado College defeated Southwestern University, 31-11, in the championship game of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament at Washburn Field.
"Our team has worked so hard this season and earned this opportunity," head coach Sean Woods said. "I'm excited to start prepping for Saturday's game against a very good Transylvania team. The entire Tiger lacrosse family iss excited."
Transylvania (13-2) earned an automatic berth after claiming its sixth consecutive Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship with a 25-6 victory over Hanover College on Saturday.
Saturday's winner will face either Denison University (8-1) or host Centre College (11-1) on Sunday at noon MT for the right to advance to a national quarterfinal game on Saturday, May 22.
Junior attackman Anders Erickson, the Offensive MVP of the SCAC Championship, leads CC's balanced attack that features three players with 20 or more goals and at least 30 points.
Erickson already has produced 34 goals and 36 assists, and became the 11th player in program history to record 70 points in a single-season. He currently is tied for fifth in single-season assists and tied for 32nd in single-season goals.
Junior attackman Elliot Nelson is second with career highs of 20 goals, 17 assists and 31 points, while sophomore attackman Makay Hansen is second on the team with career highs of 30 goals and 36 points.
Four more players – sophomores Jack Haims and Dylan Wells, along with freshmen Philip Gisler and Declan Maguire – have struck for double-digit goals and surpassed the 20-point mark.
While CC's offense is producing more than 17 goals per game, the defense is giving up less than 10 despite facing three teams ranked in the top five of the USILA's Division III poll at the time of the game – No. 4 Salisbury University, No. 5 Christopher Newport University and No. 5 University of Lynchburg.
Graduate student Isaac Atencio leads the Tigers with 14 caused turnovers and is eighth with 22 ground balls. Senior defender Billy Hutchison has 12 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls, while sophomore Quinn Guevara has 11 caused turnovers 14 ground balls.
Sophomore faceoff specialist Winston Chodnicki is 132-209 at the dot and leads the team with 59 ground balls, while senior long-stick midfielder John Lawrence has 36 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
Freshman Ben Anastos has been solid in goal, posting an 11-3 record along with a 9.94 goals-against average and a .521 saves percentage.
Denison, which was ranked No. 14 in the most recent USILA Division III Poll, is the highest-ranked team in the Centre pod. CC is the only other nationally-ranked team.
Facing a nationally-ranked opponent in the NCAA tournament has become a postseason tradition for the Tigers. In fact, they were knocked out of the tournament twice by the eventual national champion.
In the program's first NCAA appearance in 2011, Colorado College dropped a 25-5 decision at No. 7 Roanoke College, which advanced to the national semifinals.
CC fell at No. 11 Washington College, 10-7, in 2013, at No. 12 Amherst College (13-10) the following year and then at No. 9 Endicott College (12-6) in 2015.
In 2016, the Tigers overcame an 8-2 second-half deficit to defeat Whittier College, 11-10 in overtime, for the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. In the second round, Colorado College lost 16-5 at No. 3 Salisbury University, which went on to claim the national championship.
In 2017, CC dropped a 22-10 result at No. 9 Cabrini University, and the following year, the Tigers dropped 21-10 decision to the eventual national champion Cavaliers, which entered the season ranked No. 8.
