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TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team hosts Middlebury College on Saturday afternoon at 2pm in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Engineers, the 12th-ranked team in the nation, are 14-2, while the Panthers, who are ranked 13th in Division III, are 12-5. The winner advances to the quarterfinals, which will be played on Wednesday, May 19.

RPI, which has set the school record for wins in a season, qualified for the national tournament by winning the Liberty League Tournament. Middlebury, which lost in the championship game of the NESCAC Tournament, earned an at-large berth. A national semifinalist a season ago, it defeated Goucher, 10-6, in the first round on Wednesday to advance.

Saturday's contest is a rematch of a game played on April 20 in Troy. In that game, the Panthers scored five straight goals in the third quarter to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 lead and the visitors went on to a 9-6 victory.

Sophomore attack Tim Cahill (Glastonbury, CT/Loomis Chaffee) and freshman midfielder Scott Redmond (Essex Fells, NJ/Newark Academy) had two goals apiece for Middlebury, which saw junior Ryan Deane (Grosse Pointe, MI/University Liggett School) make 12 saves. For the Engineers, senior midfielders Paul Cerone (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) and Bryant Johnson (Minnetonka, MN/The Blake School) both scored twice and freshman James Manchester (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) stopped 11 shots.

RPI, which has won eight of its last nine games, has one of the stingiest defenses in Division III, allowing just 5.56 goals per game to rank second nationally. Manchester, the Most Outstanding Player of the Liberty League Tournament, has started all 16 games. He currently leads the nation in goals against average (5.44) and ranks fifth in save percentage (.651).

Offensively the Engineers average 10.63 goals per game, behind Johnson, who has a team-high 30 goals. Junior attack Nick Billy (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) is first in points with 43 (26 goals, 17 assists), followed by Cerone, who has 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists), and Johnson, who has 34.

Sophomore Brian Larkin (Florham Park, NJ/Seton Hall Prep), who takes the majority of face-offs, leads the team with 76 ground balls. He has won 54.0% (149-276) of his draws, while the Engineers have won 55.3% (176-318) of all face-offs as a team.

Admission for Saturday's game is $5 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens and $1 for children under 12. Those not attending can follow the game via live statistics through www.rpiathletics.com. Saturday's contest can also be heard live on WRPI, 91.5 FM, and www.wrpi.org.