(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia men's lacrosse hosted rival (RV) Madonna as the team celebrated Senior Day. At halftime, the Cardinals honored their senior team members: Austin Ventimiglio, Blake Blaisdell, Jacob Greenway, Luke Holden, and Ryan Iles. CUAA held a 6-4 lead at halftime, but Madonna eventually came back and survived a late rally to win 12-10.
Andrew Simmons led the Cardinals with a hat trick on the day. Noah Sorenson had a team-high 6 ground balls. Joseph Loria led the team with 3 caused turnovers.
Sam Bowling played a complete game in goal, making 14 saves and setting a new single-season program record for saves in a season, now sitting at 171. Sam Saje won the opening faceoff to start the offense and Noah Sorenson snapped a quick goal just 9 seconds into the game. Madonna countered with 2 goals to take the lead, but Andrew Simmons started a 3-0 run with a tying goal. Ryan Iles notched a go-ahead marker and Simmons added his second goal off a feed from Blake Blaisdell. CUAA led 4-2 after the first quarter.
Andrew Simmons completed his hat trick to start the second quarter off a bounce pass from Travis Wright. Both teams traded markers as Wright notched a powerplay goal off an assist from Noah Sorenson. The contest would be tight defensively with CUAA holding a 6-4 lead at halftime.
Madonna scored 5 unanswered goals in the third quarter to take the lead. Evan Stuart ended the run with a goal after a pass from Noah Sorenson. However, Madonna held an 11-7 lead after the third quarter.
The Cardinals began to rally in the fourth quarter when Travis Wright ripped a goal from the left side after a cross-field pass by Ryan Iles. Iles then scored a similar goal off a feed by Noah Sorenson. Blake Blaisdell ran towards the net and scored to cut the deficit to 11-10.
Madonna scored again to extend their lead to two goals. Despite several key opportunities in the final minutes, the Cardinals were unable to come back and fell 12-10.
Concordia will remain home this Saturday when they host Indiana Tech at 4pm.
