Keaton Ackermann of Erieville is a member of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lacrosse team that has earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
RPI hosts Amherst College in a first round game on Wednesday afternoon at East Campus Stadium (3pm). The Engineers, who are 13-4, and the Jeffs, who are 12-4, were two of nine at-large teams selected to the 32-team field that determines the Division III national champion.
Specific information about Keaton can be found on his roster page at http://www.rpiathletics.com/
Wednesday’s game marks the fourth time in school history the Engineers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Jim Townsend and his team’s most recent appearance came in 2010 when it hosted Middlebury College in a second round contest, a 16-8 loss. Rensselaer traveled to Washington College (Md.) in 2000, losing 15-6, and then advanced to the quarterfinals in 2001, defeating SUNY Cortland, 9-7, before losing at Nazareth College, 15-14. RPI has one NCAA Championship to its credit, having earned the distinction in 1952 before there was a post-season tournament.
This year’s team has played seven of its 17 games against teams that are in the NCAA field, going 3-4 in those games. The Engineers beat Ithaca College, Whittier College and St. Lawrence University, while falling to the Saints, Keene State and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) twice, including in Sunday’s Liberty League Championship Game (15-5). No. 2 RIT (17-1) hosts John Carroll College (12-5) in a first round matchup with the winner facing No. 15 RPI or No. 11 Amherst on Saturday.
For additional information or to watch the game, please visit www.rpiathletics.com.