Limestone Men's Lacrosse To Make 18th Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance

For an 18th consecutive year, the nationally top-ranked Limestone College men's lacrosse team has been selected to play in the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament and will begin its quest for a third title in four years as the top seed in the South Region.

The Saints’ entry into the tournament was announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, May 7.

Limestone, which won the first of the program's four NCAA Division II championships during the 2000 season, will host Wingate University in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 13, at Saints Field. Game time is set for 12 p.m.

Former Deep South Conference rivals, Limestone and Wingate will square off in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2001 national semifinals and for the 25th time overall. The Saints picked up a 20-2 win in the 2001 tournament, and are 22-2 all-time against the Bulldogs dating back to the 1997 season.

Limestone, which has gone unbeaten in South Region play in each of the past two seasons, will be the top seed in the regional bracket for a fourth consecutive year. The Saints have advanced into the National Championship game every year during that stretch, winning it all in 2014 and again in 2015.

Limestone enters the national tournament with an 18-1 overall record, and has posted a 10-1 mark against nationally ranked opponents this season. The Saints have won 30 straight games at home, including the playoffs, and have not lost an NCAA Tournament game at Saints Field since the 2011 season.

Leading the nation with 16.68 goals per game, Limestone has registered 10 or more goals in every game this season and has eclipsed the 20-goal mark on four different occasions. Wingate ranks fourth nationally with 7.13 goals allowed per game and has only surrendered 10 goals in a game twice this year.

On the other side of the South Region bracket, second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University will play in its first NCAA Tournament and will host third-seeded University of Tampa on Saturday, May 13.

In the North Region, Adelphi University will be the top seed and will play host to fourth-seeded Pace University while second-seeded Le Moyne College will host Merrimack College as the three seed. All four teams in the regional bracket compete in the powerful Northeast-10.

The national semifinals will be played on Sunday, May 21, at campus sites – the highest remaining seeds in both regions will host a semifinal game – while the NCAA Division II National Championship game will be played at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, in Foxborough, Mass., on May 28.

Limestone has won a total of four NCAA Division II men's lacrosse national championships.

(Article by Ernest Meyers, Limestone Sports Information Director)