(Ann Arbor, MI) - Concordia Cardinals men's lacrosse defeated Aquinas on Tuesday afternoon to advance to their second ever WHAC Championship. The Cardinals are set to host the second seeded Indiana Tech in a rematch of their first ever WHAC Championship appearance with an automatic birth to the NAIA Men's Lacrosse Invitational on the line.
GAME INFORMATION
#2 Indiana Tech Warriors at #1 Concordia Cardinals
April 29 | 1 PM | Ferry Field at Cardinal Stadium | Ann Arbor, MI
Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Head coach Bryan Seaman is in his sixth season with Indiana Tech, most recently winning the WHAC regular season and tournament with the Warriors last season. The Warriors took down #3-seed Siena Heights, 12-10, in the WHAC Semifinal on Thursday. Much like the Cardinals, the Warriors had seven named to All-WHAC teams this season.
The Warrior attack is led by All-WHAC First Team selection Nate Langille and Second Team selection Devin Macomber. Langille and Macomber currently have 74 and 63 points respectively. Midfielder and All-WHAC First Teamer Josh Bramley is third on the team with 61 points.
The defense is led by a pair of All-WHAC First Team selections in Tom Piotrowski and Sam Anderson. Piotrowski and Anderson caused 55 and 42 turnovers respectively, while picking up 63 and 50 ground balls. Second Teamers Avery Smith and Grant Seaman round out a Warrior defense that allows the second least number of goals in the conference, only behind the Cardinals.
Tristan McKneely handles faceoffs for Indiana Tech, winning 46.9% of them on the season. Kyle TwoBulls has started all 17 games in goal from the Warriors, sporting a 57.5 save percentage.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Concordia Head Coach Ty McGuire is in his fifth season as the lead man for the Cardinals and has been named the WHAC Coach of the Year after a regular season WHAC Championship. The team is making its second appearance in the WHAC Championship with its last coming in 2021. He has recorded a record of 33-26 in his five seasons.
Sam Saje, the Cardinals' faceoff specialist earned First Team honors this season after winning 71.4% of his faceoffs and leading the WHAC with 156 ground balls. Noah Sorenson was also named to the First Team as a defensive, short stick midfielder for the Cardinals. Second Teamers Jagger Sines and Joseph Loria help lead the Cardinal defense as well.
Offensively, the Cardinals feature a balanced attack led by a trio of Second Team selections in Travis Wright, Evan Stuart, and Hunter McCarty. They are the top three point scorers for the Cards with 44, 42, and 37 respectively. Andrew Simmons, Spencer Guppy, Ross Preston, and Cooper Regimbal all have 25 or more points for Concordia on the season as well.
Sam Bowling has started all 15 games for the Cardinals and has saved 57.9% of the shots he has faced.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUP)
Indiana Tech holds the all-time series 6-1, with the Cardinals winning the most recent meeting on March 25th.
In that the meeting the Cardinals took down the, then second ranked, Warriors 12-11. Sam Bowling recorded 17 saves in the win to keep Indiana Tech at bay. In a game of runs, Indiana Tech scored the first goal, followed by 5 straight for the Cardinals, then 5 in a row for the Warriors, followed by another 6 unanswered for the Cards. Indiana Tech would close out the game with 4 straight, but it proved to be too little, too late, as Concordia won by a goal in the end. Hunter McCarty netted 4 goals for the Cardinals followed by Travis Wright and Evan Stuart with 2 apiece. Josh Bramley and Samuel Bodley each recorded a hat trick for the Warriors.
STATS COMPARISON
|
|
Indiana Tech |
Concordia |
|
Games |
17 |
15 |
|
Goals |
268 |
215 |
|
Assists |
195 |
113 |
|
Goal/Game |
15.76 |
14.33 |
|
Shots |
830 |
780 |
|
Shots on Goal |
519 |
435 |
|
Ground Balls |
748 |
577 |
|
Caused Turnovers |
347 |
189 |
|
Faceoff Percentage |
43.4% |
69.5% |
|
Clear Percentage |
85.3% |
83.7% |
|
Goals Against |
132 |
113 |
|
Goals Against Average |
7.86 |
7.70 |
|
Saves |
183 |
153 |
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
#1 Concordia (15-1) def. #4 Aquinas (8-8), 13-5
#2 Indiana Tech (14-3) def. #3 Siena Heights (8-5), 12-10
Championship - Saturday, April 29
#2 Indiana Tech (14-3) at #1 Concordia (15-1), 1 p.m.
Automatic Berth to NAIA Men's Lacrosse Invitational:
Winner of conference tournament
