COLORADO SPRINGS — The Colorado College men's lacrosse team will make the program's ninth appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 14, when the Tigers travel to Brunswick, Maine, to face Bowdoin College at 10 a.m. (MT).
The Tigers earned an automatic berth in the 31-team field after defeating Southwestern University, 17-12, in the championship game of the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference tournament on Sunday in Chicago.
"I am so proud of this team," first-year head coach Mike Horowitz said. "Our guys bought in fully despite all the adversity they faced this year. We have a selfless group who deserves this opportunity."
Bowdoin (16-2) earned an at-large bid after falling to Tufts, 20-11, in the NESCAC final on Sunday. The Polar Bears, who were ranked No. 9 in the most recent USILA Division III Poll, is the highest-ranked team in the Bowdoin pod.
Saturday's winner faces either 10th-ranked St. Lawrence (13-4) or SUNY-Cortland (13-6) on Sunday, May 15, for the right to advance to the national quarterfinals.
The contest against Bowdoin will be CC's sixth of the season against an opponent ranked in the Top 15 of the USILA's Division III poll, Earlier this year, the Tigers opened the season against No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan in Memphis and then played at No. 13 Stevenson, at No. 1 Salisbury, at No. 13 Cabrini University and at No. 1 Christopher Newport in the regular-season finale.
Facing a nationally-ranked opponent in the NCAA tournament has become a postseason tradition for the Tigers. In fact, they have been knocked out of the tournament three times by the eventual national champion since 2016.
Last year, Colorado College defeated Transylvania University (20-12) and host Centre College (19-5) before falling at No. 3 RIT, 19-13, in a national quarterfinal game.
In the program's first NCAA appearance in 2011, Colorado College dropped a 25-5 decision at No. 7 Roanoke College, which advanced to the national semifinals.
CC fell at No. 11 Washington College, 10-7, in 2013, at No. 12 Amherst College (13-10) the following year and then at No. 9 Endicott College (12-6) in 2015.
In 2016, the Tigers overcame an 8-2 second-half deficit to defeat Whittier College, 11-10 in overtime, for the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. In the second round, Colorado College lost 16-5 at No. 3 Salisbury University, which went on to claim the national championship.
In 2017, CC dropped a 22-10 result at No. 9 Cabrini University, and the following year, the Tigers fell, 21-10, to the eventual national champion Cavaliers, which entered the season ranked No. 8.
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