Killen, RIT fall in NCAA Division III final
Peterborough’s Kyle Killen and the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers fell to the Salisbury University Sea Gulls in the 2017 NCAA Division III men’s field lacrosse championship on Sunday.
The No. 2 seeded RIT (20-3) lost 15-7 to No. 1 Salisbury (22-1) in front of an announced crowd of 31,560 fans at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Salisbury won its second straight NCAA Championship and 12th in program history. The Sea Gulls defence managed to contain the RIT offence, which had scored 299 goals over its last 15 games, all victories. RIT’s seven goals were a season-low.
Salisbury outshot RIT, 42-34, while holding a decisive 44-26 edge in ground balls. The Tigers won 14-of-25 face-offs, but turned the ball over 15 times to Salisbury’s 10. Salisbury was 15-for-18 in clears, while RIT was 12-for-15. Salisbury was 2-for-6 on the man-up and did not take a penalty in the game.
RIT with a hidden ball trick goal in the game that captured social media attention
Senior Braden Wallace, of Oakville, led the RIT attack with a season-high four goals, giving him 34 on the season.
Killen, who plays with the Peterborough Merit Precision Jr. A Lakers, is a graduate of Crestwood Secondary School and is the son of Janice and Brian Killen. A junior, he’s a hospitality major and came to RIT after two seasons with Onondaga Community College.
While held pointless in the championship game, Killen, a midfielder, finishes the season with 32 goals and 23 assists for 55 points.
Earlier this month Killen was named a 2017 USILA/Nike AllAmerican as an honourable mention. a.m., Varsity Games @ ASCVI a.m., Tournament Games @ Bowers Park