ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Top ranked RIT lacrosse carries 10 former Section V standouts on their roster and that's not by accident. The Tiger's coaching staff says that they take advantage of the proximity to such a lacrosse hotbed when it comes to recruiting.

"If you're an Upstate New York kid you have a bit of grittiness," said head coach Jake Coon. "Dealing with the weather, stuff like that, I think you get a little bit of a blue collar mentality."

And while the players may have been each other's competition in high school, they say that coming from the Rochester area gives them an automatic connection.

"We feel a little bit closer already, so it's easier to get to know each other having this demographic background we have. It's really been great," said senior captain and Fairport graduate Jay Vakiener.

"You come in, you kind of know each other, you have that in common in kind of a foreign place," Coon said. "The guys kind of get a bond because of that I think."

On top of their skill sets, keeping players in the area gives the Tigers an extra home field advantage.

"It's great to have family, friends, local high schools, youth all of them come out to watch," Coon said. "I think it's a great brand of lacrosse."

"I remember when I was at that stage of my life, watching us. It feels good to give back to everybody as well," Vakiener said.

"I used to come to the RIT camp when I was growing up now I'm one of the ones working the camp. Playing for this team just means a lot to me," said junior Shawn Nally, a McQuaid graduate.

With only six games left in the regular season, the team says they aren't paying too much attention to that top ranking, but they know it puts a target on their back.

"I mean teams are definitely going to give us their best game, but we don't look too much at the rankings," Nally said.

"It is addressed, we talk about that stuff, but ultimately it doesn't matter right now," Coon said. "What matters is where we're at at the end of the season."

For the Tigers each game is the chance to get closer to their goal, a national title.

"It's just every singe day, the reps, you have to work hard. Ultimately the goal is getting to the national championship," Vakiener said.