ROCK HILL, S.C. --- On the strength of its best season in program history, the Tusculum men's lacrosse team has earned the No. 3 seed and will host sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial in a quarterfinal game of the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
The quarterfinal game will be played this Tuesday night at 7 p.m. from the Niswonger Sports Complex and Pioneer Field. It will be the first time the Tusculum men's lacrosse team has hosted a SAC Tournament game.
Ticket prices for Tuesday's SAC Tournament quarterfinal are $6 for adults, $3 for children under 13 and $2 for students with a college ID. The Tusculum athletic department will be providing the admission charge for all Tusculum students, but they must show a valid TC ID to be admitted. No other passes or rates will be honored for admission to Tuesday's game.
Lenoir-Rhyne captured its third SAC Championship in the last four years by going undefeated in league play (8-0) and will be the No. 1 seed. Tusculum and Wingate tied for second place with 6-2 league records. The Bulldogs edged the Pioneers 10-9 on Saturday to earn the No. 2 seed. Both Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate earn byes to Thursday's semifinals, which will be played on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tusculum is the third seed, while Queens University of Charlotte will be the No. 4 seed and host fifth-seeded Catawba in a Tuesday quarterfinal game. Catawba and Lincoln Memorial tied for fifth place with 4-4 league records, with the Catawba Indians earning the fifth seed with its 13-12 home win over LMU in March.
If past history is an indicator, Tuesday's quarterfinal game between the Pioneers and the Railsplitters will be a thriller. All three of the previous meetings have been decided by one goal with two of those games needing to go into overtime, both won by Tusculum including last month's 13-12 win in Harrogate. LMU's only win in the series came last year in a 13-12 victory in its only visit to Pioneer Field.
The winner of the Tusculum/LMU game will advance to Thursday's semifinal against Wingate, which will be slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.
This will be Tusculum's second trip to the SAC postseason. TC rallied in the fourth quarter of last year's quarterfinal at Coker to pull out a 12-9 win and advance to the SAC semifinal. Tusculum lost in the semifinal round to top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne.
Lincoln Memorial will be making its inaugural SAC Tournament appearance on Tuesday.
2017 SAC Men's Lacrosse Championship
Tuesday, April 25, 2017 ▪ Quarterfinals at campus sites
No. 6 Lincoln Memorial at No. 3 Tusculum, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Catawba at No. 4 Queens, TBA
Thursday, April 27, 2017 ▪ Semifinals at Charlotte, N.C.
No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne vs Queens/Catawba winner, 4 p.m.
No. 2 Wingate vs Tusculum/Lincoln Memorial winner, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 29, 2017 ▪ Charlotte, N.C.
Championship Game, 2 p.m.
