COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse team has advanced to the national quarterfinal round of the 18-team NCAA Division II Championship and will visit Molloy University on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Purple Knights are the No. 7 seed in the eight-team North Region half of the bracket and take on a Lion squad seeded third. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for seniors and children under 12.
 
Saint Michael's, which stands 10-5 overall and was ranked 19th in last week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll, downed third-ranked/second-seeded Saint Anselm College, 9-8, in the first round on Sunday, defeating a team that advanced to the past two national semifinals. In the process, the Purple Knights earned the first road postseason victory in program annals while making their NCAA Championship debut.
 
Molloy, which was 11th in last week's USILA national rankings, improved to 15-3 with a 15-12 win in the first round against 15th-ranked/sixth-seeded Assumption University, which took a pair of one-goal wins over Saint Michael's this season. The Purple Knights are 2-5 against the Lions, with every contest in Rockville Centre, N.Y. The teams have met only once since 2014, in 2022, and square off in the postseason for the first time.
 
Also for the first time, five Northeast 10 Conference teams qualified for an NCAA Championship, as all four at-large berths from the North Region went to NE10 programs. Two other NE10 teams remain alive, as top-ranked/top-seeded Adelphi University, the two-time defending national champion, hosts 10th-ranked/fourth-seeded Pace University in Wednesday's other North Region semifinal.
 
The 10-team South Region bracket has also been whittled to four squads. Second-ranked/top-seeded University of Tampa and eighth-ranked/fourth-seeded Lewis University meet in Wednesday's national quarterfinals, as do ninth-ranked/sixth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University and 12th-ranked/seventh-seeded Anderson University.
 
Quarterfinal winners advance to Sunday's semifinals at campus sites. This year's finalists will advance to Charlottesville, Va., for the championship game at Scott Stadium, which will be played at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, and broadcast on NCAA.com. The Division I and Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships will also host their final games in Charlottesville over Memorial Day weekend. 
 
Under ninth-year head coach Alex Smith, the NE10 Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons, the Purple Knights have relied upon a strong defense and faceoff unit. They stand fifth in NCAA Division II in caused turnovers per game (12.3), eighth in ground balls average (39.9), ninth in scoring defense (8.47), and 18th in faceoff winning percentage (59.6%). Smith takes a second team to the national stage after guiding Colorado State University to Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) national championships in 2012 and 2013.
 
First-year Chris Davis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), the NE10 Co-Rookie of the Year, leads the attack with 28 goals and 15 assists, and senior Sean Murphy (Medway, Mass./Medway) has turned in 26 goals, 38 points and 14 caused turnovers despite missing three games. He had five goals and an assist during the Purple Knights' NE10 first-round contest at Assumption University before adding four points at Saint Anselm. Classmate Owen Balfour (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) adds 18 goals and also potted four points against the Hawks, while first-year Zeke Peraza (Los Angeles, Calif./Saint Francis) and sophomore Noah Veroneau (South Portland, Maine/Thornton Academy) own 25 points and 15 goals, respectively, from the midfield. First-year midfielder Braeden Murphy (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) has 11 helpers and 21 points.
 
Senior Mike Nelson (Worcester, Mass./Auburn) is 5-0 between the pipes with an 8.44 goals-against average and a .545 save percentage, while sophomore Nate Gulachenski (Southboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) owns an 8.44 GAA and .599 save percentage with a 5-5 record. Gulachenski is fifth in the nation in save percentage and ninth in GAA, and landed on the NE10 All-Conference third team.
 
Junior Paul Mannke (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) recorded 37 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers, standing 28th nationally in caused turnovers per game (1.9), while senior Gavin Proutt (Baltimore, Md./Boys' Latin School of Maryland) and junior Travis Keel (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) join him as part of the regular starting defense. Keel has caused 23 turnovers and Proutt 13 while standing sixth in program history with 61 for a career. Senior short-stick defensive midfielder Benjamin Riggs (Plainville, Mass./King Philip Regional) adds 19 ground balls, and sophomore midfielder Andrew Burke (Portland, Maine/Deering) caused 11 turnovers.
 
Sophomore Noah Poirier (Dalton, Mass./Wahconah Regional) has keyed the Purple Knights' success at the faceoff X, standing 15th in the nation in ground balls per game (7.3) and tied for 18th in winning percentage (62.6%), placing second in program history in both victories (184) and ground balls (109). Junior long-stick midfielder Taylor Wiercinski (Groton, Mass./Lawrence Academy) scooped 58 ground balls with 20 caused turnovers while scoring 10 goals, and sophomore short-stick defensive midfielder Matt O'Donnell (Marshfield, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) adds 44 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers, with both contributing on faceoffs. O'Donnell was named to the NE10 All-Conference third team and scored his first college goal at Saint Anselm.
 
Men's lacrosse continues a banner school year for Saint Michael's Athletics, which saw men's and women's basketball, two Nordic skiers, and an Alpine skier also qualify for NCAA Championships.