The Colorado College men's lacrosse team will make the program's 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 13, when the Tigers travel to Salisbury, Md., to face No. 2-ranked Salisbury University at 10 a.m. (MT).
 
The Tigers (9-6) earned an automatic berth in the 38-team field after defeating Southwestern University, 23-7, in the championship game of the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference tournament on April 30 in Hanover, Ind.

"It is exciting to compete against one of the most historic programs in Division III lacrosse," head coach Mike Horowitz said. "We have been on a mission all season to play our best when our best is needed most and this is a great opportunity to showcase that."
 
Salisbury (18-1) earned an automatic bid after defeating No. 4 Christopher Newport, 9-4, in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference final on Sunday. The Sea Gulls are the highest-ranked team in the Salisbury pod.
 
Saturday's winner faces either 8th-ranked Amherst (11-5) or SUNY-Geneseo (15-4) on Sunday, May 14, for the right to advance to the national quarterfinals.
 
The contest against Salisbury will be CC's second of the season against an opponent ranked in the USILA's Division III poll. Earlier this year, the Tigers played at No. 19 Ursinus College on Feb. 26.
 
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 fell to No. 9 Bowdoin College, 23-8, in the second round of the national tournament.  
 
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.
 
In 2021, Colorado College defeated Transylvania University (20-12) and host Centre College (19-5) before falling at No. 3-ranked and eventual national champion RIT, 19-13, in a national quarterfinal game.