Higher Seeds Advance in Men's Lacrosse Tournament
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - The quarterfinals of the 2023 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament saw the higher seeds advance to the semifinals. Fourth-seeded Aquinas defeated No. 5 Madonna 12-5 while the No. 3 seed Siena Heights beat #6-seeded Lawrence Tech 19-5.
Aquinas travels to top-seeded Concordia for a 4 p.m. matchup on Thursday, April 27 and Siena Heights visits second-seeded Indiana Tech also at 4 p.m.
The winners will play in the championship match at the higher seed on April 29.
#4 Aquinas (8-7) def. #5 Madonna (8-8), 12-5
Aquinas scored the only two goals of the opening period whne Hunter Roberts and Nico Kittredge both scored unassisted. The Saints opened the second quarter with three straight goals to go up 5-0 before Madonna put two on the board. The teams traded goals again and the first half ended with AQ up 6-3.
Aquinas took over the third quarter, scoring four while holding the Crusaders to a lone man-up goal by Nick Bryden. The final quarter featured back-to-back goals for the Saints with Vince Floro scoring the final goal of the game for Madonna.
The Saints (8-7) outshot Madonna 49-37 and won the face off battle 15-6.
Madonna ends the season at 8-8.
Stat Leaders
Goals: Zachary Sweet 3 (AQ); Vince Floro 2 (MU)
Assists: Jon Jardis 4 (AQ)Several 1 (MU)
Ground Balls: Kent Westrick 6 (MU); Reed Chastain, Jon Jardis, Mitch Haggart 4 (AQ)
Caused Turnovers: Kent Westrick 3 (MU); Jack Rioux 2 (AQ)
Saves: Clayton Boerigter 15 (AQ); Jeff Varner 14 (MU)
#3 Siena Heights def. #6 Lawrence Tech, 19-5
Siena Heights jumped to a 4-2 thanks to a pair of quick goals in the first two minutes of the game. Lawrence Tech stayed within striking distance, putting two in the cage in the first as well. The Saints tacked on three more goals in the second stanza while holding LTU to a single goal for a 7-3 lead at the break.
Siena Heights put on a defensive show in the second half, holding the Blue Devils to just one goal in each quarter. SHU's offensive also stepped up, netting eight goals in the third and another four to close out the game.
The Saints (9-4) grabbed 49 ground balls to LTU's 23 and won 23-of-28 face offs. SHU also took 52 shots compared to LTU's 29.
Lawrence Tech ends the season at 6-6.
Stat Leaders
Goals: Eric Csizmadia 5 (SHU); Several 1 (LTU)
Assists: Devin Plemmons 4 (SHU); Damian Hudson, Brady Clark, Jonathon Richter 1 (LTU)
Ground Balls: Fernando Robison 14 (SHU); Samuel Pickelhaupt 4 (LTU)
Caused Turnovers: Chance Snyder 4 (SHU); Samuel Pickelhaupt 2 (LTU)
Saves: Jakob Moske 11 (SHU); Jarret Willershausen 10 (LTU)