WHAC Teams go 1-2 at NAIA MLAX National Invitational
PENSACOLA, Fla. - (NAIA Release) - The opening day of the 2023 NAIA Men's Lacrosse National Invitational saw WHAC teams go 1-2 as Concordia dropped its contest and Indiana Tech eliminated WHAC foe Siena Heights. Playing in the bottom half of the bracket of its first-ever tournament appearance, sixth-seeded Concordia dropped a 14-8 contest to third-seeed Cumberlands (Ky.). The nightcap featured two WHAC teams facing off as second-seeded Indiana Tech topped No. 7 Siena Heights 19-6.
Tech advances to the semifinal round and will face Cumberlands on Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m.
No. 3 Cumberlands (Ky.) def. No. 6 Concordia, 14-8
Cumberlands scored first on a goal by Don Lulow and Concordia evened the score 20 seconds later when Andrew Simmons found Noah Sorenson. The teams traded goals until Christian Vanover scored with four seconds left to give the Patriots a 4-3 edge. Both teams netted a goal in the first five minutes of the second quarter before UC netted a pair of goals to take 7-4 lead into the break.
Sorenson opened the third quarter with his second goal and Travis Wright added a score to pull the Cardinals to within one point at 7-6 with 12:27 left in the third quarter. Cumberlands responded with three unanswered goals for a 10-6 advantage at the end of three. The Patriots opened the fourth quarter with three straight goals before each team added a goal in the final minute for the 14-8 final.
Michael Toohey led the way for the Patriots with 20 saves and two caused turnovers. Tanner Popovich tallied two goals and four assists, while Christian Vanover and Nick Kava combined for nine points in the win.
Travis Wright led the way for the Cardinals with four points and Ross Preston dished out three assists. Sam Saje went 23-25 on faceoffs with ten ground balls, while Joseph Loria scooped five ground balls. Sam Bowling made eight saves between the pipes.
No. 2 Indiana Tech def. No. 7 Siena Heights, 19-6
Indiana Tech;s Devin Macomber netted a goal 38 seconds into the game as the Warriors took control early. Samuel Bodley added two goals and an assist to extend IT's lead to 4-0 and the Warriors added one more goal to take a 5-0 lead at the close of the first quarter. The second quarter looked much like the first quarter as Bodley netted three goals to help Tech take a 10-0 lead at the half.
Siena Heights finally broke through and Alex Lawson scored within the first minute. The Saints added back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to 10-3 before Indiana Tech's offense found its groove again and scored five of the next six goals for a 15-4 lead at the close of the third quarter. Nate Langille found the cage early in the final period for Indiana Tech before a dry spell extended until midway through the quarter when SHU's Eric Csizmadia netted a goal off a turnover to put the score at 16-5. Indiana Tech added three consecutive goals by three different players before Siena Heights scored a goal with 29 seconds remaining for the 19-6 final.
Bodley led the way for the Warriors with six goals and eight points. Devin Macomber netted four goals in the game and Josh Bramley added a hattrick as Nate Langille finished with four points and six ground balls in the contest. Kyle Twobulls made eight saves in the win.
Jake Gallaher netted a pair of goals for Siena Heights, while Eric Csizmadia tallied three assists and four points to lead the way for Siena Heights. Fernando Robison went 14-18 on faceoffs with nine ground balls as Rolando Robison scooped five ground balls. Jakob Moske made 13 saves in the game.