The 19th-ranked Middlebury men's lacrosse team has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, as announced during the selection show on Sunday evening. The Panthers have secured a first-round bye and will travel to Medford, Massachusetts, squaring off against #8 Dickinson before facing the winner between top-ranked Tufts and either Rivier or Rhodes.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The program earns its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Middlebury sports a 37-17 record in the NCAA Tournament. That mark ranks fifth all-time among current Division III institutions.
• The Panthers attempt to grab their fourth national title after earning three straight from 2000-02.
• Middlebury secured its 23rd NESCAC Tournament berth, falling to eventual champion Tufts 21-11 in the quarterfinals.
• The squad has battled nine nationally ranked teams this season.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Logan White and Will Ford have paced the Panther attack. White leads the team in goals (30), assists (18) and points (48). The senior has 10 multi-point performances, including seven goals and two assists earlier this season against St. Lawrence. Ford joins White as the second player to start all 15 contests and owns 22 goals and 10 helpers entering the tournament.
• Also contributing to the Panther offensive unit have been Cooper DeMallie (18G, 6A), Ged Gengras (14G, 3A) and Nick Marvin (13G, 2A).
• Sliding into the faceoff dot, Noah Filippelli sports a .619 winning percentage and 169 total victories. The Panther has won the faceoff battle in 11 contests and leads the team with 85 rollers.
• The defensive duo of Drew Dummer and Ryan Colella has been a problem for opposing offenses. Dummer sits atop the team with 33 caused turnovers and is three away from breaking the program record for a career. Colella has forced 17 miscues alongside 22 ground balls.
• Hayden Kern has started all 15 contests in net. The senior captain touts a .549 save percentage and stopped 191 shots. Earlier this season, Kern became the all-time leader in career saves (845).

ABOUT DICKINSON

• Dickinson secured an at-large selection and an opening round bye after falling 13-12 in overtime to Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference Championship.
• The Red Devils make their 10th appearance and have a 14-9 record on the national stage.
• Dickinson posted a miraculous run in the NCAA Tournament last season, knocking off Denison, Salisbury, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to reach the national title game.
• The red and white enter the weekend with a 15-3 record. It marks the sixth consecutive season that the team has carried double-digit triumphs into the tournament.
• This spring, the Red Devils have a 2-2 mark against ranked opponents.

RED DEVILS TO WATCH

• Ramsey Higgins and Preston Boyd pace the Dickinson attack. Higgins leads the team with 45 points on 27 goals and 18 assists. He has nine instances of three or more points this season, headlined by five (4G, 1A) against St. Lawrence. Boyd has a squad-best 36 goals and is a point behind Higgins.
• The final Red Devil with 30 or more points is Drew Stark. The rookie has 21 goals and 11 assists over 17 contests, posting a marker in seven of the last eight.
• At the dot, Ryan Backus sports a .574 winning percentage and 152 victories. The sophomore leads the team with 87 ground balls.
• Hayden Warren is one of two Red Devils with 20 or more caused turnovers. The defender paces the unit (33) and has created at least one in 17 of the team's 18 contests. Ethan Farrant and Ethan Ackerman sit second and third with 26 and 19, respectively.
• Goalie Rocco Bognet is seventh in Division III in goals against average (7.24). He sports a .549 save percentage and has six contests with 10 or more stops, including 17 in the season opener against Stevens.

SERIES HISTORY

• Middlebury and Dickinson have met twice.
• The Panthers logged a 16-11 victory over the Red Devils in the 2019 Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson.
• The sides matched up again in the third round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Middlebury grabbed a 13-9 victory.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Tufts claimed the automatic qualifier after defeating Bowdoin 18-14 in the NESCAC Championship. The title is the 14th for the Jumbos.
• The squad appears on the national stage for the 18th time and searches for its third consecutive national championship.
• Tufts' lone loss came in a 14-12 defeat to the Polar Bears in the regular season finale. The blemish snapped a 42-game winning streak.
• The team earned a first-round bye and hosting rights for the second and third round matchups.
• Rivier rallied from a 6-3 halftime deficit to grab its second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) title in an 8-7 victory over St. Joseph's (Maine). The Raiders enter the tournament as one of two remaining unbeaten squads. Hope (MI) is the other. 
• Rhodes secured the Southern Athletic Association's automatic qualifier with a 13-11 victory over Sewanee. It is the fourth time that the Lynx have made it to the NCAA Tournament.
• If Middlebury and Tufts square off in the third round on Sunday, it will be the third meeting of the season. The programs have played 65 times, with the Panthers holding a 33-32-1 edge in the series. The teams have met once in the NCAA Tournament, an 11-9 quarterfinal win for the Jumbos in 2010.
• The Panthers have never played Rhodes or Rivier in men's lacrosse.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

• Championship Central
• Full Bracket

The winners of Saturday's second-round games meet on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.