NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS
Danville, Ky. – The Transylvania men's lacrosse team commences its latest foray into the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships against the No. 16 Colorado College Tigers in the NCAA first round on Saturday, May 15 at 1:00 p.m. at Farris Stadium on the campus of Centre College.
Transylvania (13-2 overall, 6-0 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) is making both its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth overall NCAA appearance in the nine-year history of the program.
Saturday's first round showdown marks the second meeting ever between the Pioneers and Colorado College (11-3, 6-0 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference), and the first postseason meeting between the two teams. The lone previous meeting between Transy and Colorado College took place in the 2017 season opener for the Pioneers, who fell to the Tigers, 9-5 on February 17, 2017 at a neutral-site matchup in Nashville, Tennessee.
Both Transylvania and Colorado College won their respective conference regular season and conference tournament titles to clinch automatic bids into the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers and Tigers each cruised to conference championships in dominant fashion as the Pioneers beat Hanover, 25-6 in the HCLC Championship match this past Saturday while the Tigers defeated Southwestern (Texas) University, 31-11 in the SCAC Championship match on May 2.
The first-round matchup is part of a Saturday first-round doubleheader hosted by Centre College, which takes on No. 14 Denison University at 4:00 p.m. The winning teams of the first-round games will advance to play each other in the NCAA second-round match on Sunday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m. with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday, May 22. Bluegrass neighbors Transylvania and Centre faced each other earlier this season, with Centre besting Transy 9 to 5 in the second match of the season for the Pioneers back on March 3 at Farris Stadium.
The fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for Transylvania marks the first time the Pioneers have opened up the NCAA Tournament against an opponent from beyond the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the first time the Pioneers have played an NCAA Tournament game outside of the state of Virginia. Transylvania lost at Lynchburg 15-5 in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia in its most recent NCAA tournament appearance.
After contesting their first three NCAA Tournaments in Virginia, the Pioneers will make the 38-mile trip along US Route 27 southwest to Danville for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Since their second match of the season, the Pioneers have reeled off a 12-1 mark through the rest of their 2021 campaign and enter the NCAA Tournament on a season-high eight-match win streak. The Pioneers are in the midst of their best season ever by winning percentage (.866), exceeding their 13-4 record in the 2017 season (.765). The most wins in a season by the Pioneers came in the 2019 season when they went 14-5.
Colorado College has faced three top-25 nationally ranked teams this season, assembling a 1-2 record against those foes. The Tigers won a 12-11 overtime thriller against then-ranked No. 5 Christopher Newport and fell at No. 3 Salisbury, 19-3 on March 21. In their second-most recent match, the Tigers lost at the Pioneers most-recent NCAA Tournament opponent, No. 5 Lynchburg by a tally of 23-8.
The first-round matchup pits two of the highest-scoring offenses in the NCAA against one another; Colorado College is 18th in the country in goals per game at 17.29 per contest while Transylvania ranks 28th in goals with 16.47 scores per match. Transylvania has emerged as a two-way threat, ranking 18th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to 7.13 goals per match.
Transylvania is led into the 2021 NCAA Tournament by seniors Trenton Sneed and T.J. Toivonen. Both players were named the HCLC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively this week after guiding the Pioneers to an undefeated run in conference play and leading Transylvania to its sixth consecutive conference tournament crown.
Sneed led the HCLC in assists with 26 this season and ranked fourth in conference in points with 40. Sneed has tallied three hat-tricks this season and has registered a season-high five assists in a match twice this year. The senior is fifth on the team in goals with 18.
Toivonen is putting the finishing touches on a hall-of-fame career for the Pioneers, now standing sixth all-time in NCAA Division III men's lacrosse history in caused turnovers with 181 for his career. Toivonen leads the team with 21 caused turnovers and is second among the Pioneers in ground balls with 47.
Bryce Lowe leads the Pioneers in goals and ranked third in the HCLC with 44 this season. The junior midfield leads Transylvania in points with 53 and is third on the team with 14 assists. In the HCLC semifinal against Mount St. Joseph on May 5, Lowe shattered the program single-match records for goals and points, tallying nine goals and 12 points in the 25-0 shutout of the Lions.
Freshman Andrew Hamill has been an immediate breakout performer for the Pioneers, scoring five goals in his first career game at Sewanee on the way to finishing second on the team in goals with 40 this season. The HCLC Newcomer of the Year is coming off a career-high six goals in the HCLC Championship win against Hanover.
Kayd Aquino (26 goals, five assists, 17 GB) and Ethan Patton (22 goals, four assists), round out a quartet for Transylvania which has scored 22 goals or more this season.
Senior Michael Webb ranked second in the HCLC this season in goals-against-average, yielding 8.1 goals per game while averaging 7.4 saves per match. The All-HCAC First Team goalie collected a 13-2 win-loss record this season, the best for any goalie in program history.
Colorado College is led by attack Anders Erickson, who leads the team in goals (34 this season), assists (36) and in points (70). Fellow attack Makay Hansen is second on the Tigers in goals with 30 while attack Elliot Nelson ranks second on the Tigers in points with 37, and in assists with 17.
Transylvania is guided by ninth-year head coach Terry Justice (73-30) while Colorado College is led by 10th-year head coach Sean Woods (107-41).
A complete list of spectators from each institution will be due to the Tournament Director (Nathan.cash@centre.edu) 48 hours prior to the start of the tournament. In order to manage capacity limitations, Centre has set the maximum amount of guests for each institution to 150 individuals. Admission is $6 for adults age 18 and over, $4 for children ages 12-17, and free to children ages 12 and under.
The weekend's NCAA Tournament matches will be streamed via Centre College's live stream feed.
For more on Transylvania men's lacrosse, follow @Transy_Lax on Twitter
