UAlbany, RPI, Union men’s lacrosse teams head to postseason, will host openers

Three Capital Region men’s college lacrosse teams will play in the postseason.

Riding the wave of an America East tournament championship, the University at Albany men earned a first-round NCAA Division I tournament matchup with Sacred Heart at home on Wednesday.

The Great Danes (9-7) have won four games in a row and seven of their last nine. They took down Merrimack and Vermont to claim the America East tournament this weekend, giving them the NCAA tournament-opening home match at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. That game will start at 7 p.m., with the winner moving on to face Notre Dame, the tournament’s top seed.

In Division III, both RPI and Union have earned national tournament berths.

The Engineers (16-2) earned an opening-round bye after upending RIT 15-14 Sunday in the Liberty League tournament championship, and will host either St. Mary’s (Md.) or Farmingdale State at noon Saturday. Only St. Lawrence and Amherst have been able to take down RPI so far this season.

Union (12-5), meanwhile, will host Stevenson (Md.) on Saturday afternoon in a second-round tournament game. A win will give Union another home game, as Schenectady is hosting one of the D-III tournament pods.