(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals men's lacrosse claimed their first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) regular season title on Saturday as they finished off the season with a 20-10 win over Taylor. The team's season continues on Thursday as they will battle for a spot in the WHAC Championship game on Saturday. 

GAME INFORMATION

#4 Aquinas Saints at #1 Concordia Cardinals

February 27 | 4 PM | Ferry Field at Cardinal Stadium | Ann Arbor, MI

Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets

ABOUT THE SAINTS

Head coach Chris Klaiber is in his second season with Aquinas and is entering his first WHAC Tournament Semifinal at the helm, sporting an 8-7 record this season and 19-12 mark during his tenure. The Saints took down #5-seed Madonna, 12-5, in the opening round of the WHAC Tournament on Tuesday.

The Aquinas offense is led by Jon Jardis (68 points) and Mitch Haggart (64), the 2nd and 3rd highest point getters in the WHAC, respectively. The Saints have nine players in double-digits for goals, including a pair of 30+ goal scorers in Haggart (32) and Zachary Sweet (30). Jardis added 28 goals, while also leading the conference with 40 assists.

Reed Chastain and Noah Szarejko split duties as the lead faceoff men, winning 56.4% and 54.7% of faceoffs, respectively. Szarejko leads the team with 45 ground balls, followed by Kevin LaHaie (42) and Clayton Boerigter (39). The Saints have four players with 10+ caused turnovers, led by Jack Rioux with 14 and Cooper Croskey with 13. 

Clayton Boerigter anchors the Aquinas defense in net, making 201 saves (2nd in the WHAC) in 813:09 of play. He has recorded a save percentage of 62.2% over the course of the year. 

ABOUT THE CARDINALS

Head Coach Ty McGuire is in his fifth season as the lead man for the Cardinals and guided the team to a program-best 14-1 record overall and an undefeated WHAC record at 8-0. The team is making its second appearance in the WHAC tournament with its last coming in 2021. He has recorded a record of 32-26 in his five seasons. 

The Cardinal's offense is very even as eight different players have tallied at least 10 goals. The offense is led by Evan Stuart (34 goals), Travis Wright (24), Spencer Guppy (22), Andrew Simmons (22), and Hunter McCarty (20). Five different players have recorded at least 10 assists as Ross Preston leads the team with 20 assists. 

Sam Saje is the faceoff man for the Cardinals picking up 73.2% of faceoffs on the season. Saje also leads the team in ground balls with 153, while Jagger Sines has 63. Joseph Loria and Sines also anchor the defense causing the most turnovers with 28 and 22 respectively. 

Sam Bowling has been the lead man in goal playing 805:26 minutes in goal on the season. He has accumulated 139 saves on the season with a save percentage of 57.0%. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)

The Cardinals and Saints faced off earlier this past month, when Concordia claimed an 11-7 victory at home. CUAA got out to a 6-1 lead through a half of play, but Aquinas clawed back, closing the deficit to 2 in the 3rd quarter, before the Cards scored three straight goals to put the game away. Spencer Guppy and Evan Stuart recorded hat tricks in the victory for Concordia, while Guppy added a team best 2 assists, as well. Dean Cooper led the Saints with 3 goals of his own. 

The All-Time series between the sides, which began in 2017, is knotted at 3 wins apiece.  

STATS COMPARISON

WHAC TOURNAMENT

First Round - Tuesday, Apr. 25

#1 Concordia (8-0, 14-1), bye

#4 Aquinas (4-4, 8-7) def. #5 Madonna (4-4, 8-8), 12-5

#3 Siena Heights (6-2, 9-4) def. #6 Lawrence Tech (4-4, 6-6), 19-5 

#2 Indiana Tech (7-1, 13-3), bye

Semifinals - Thursday, Apr. 27

#4 Aquinas (4-4, 7-7) vs. #1 Concordia (8-0, 14-1), 4pm

#3 Siena Heights (6-2, 9-4) vs. #2 Indiana Tech (7-1, 13-3), 4pm

Championship - Saturday, Apr. 29

Automatic Berth to NAIA Men's Lacrosse Invitational:

Winner of conference tournament