(Pensacola, FL) - The Concordia Cardinals men's lacrosse team secured their second ever berth to the NAIA Men Lacrosse Invitational following a 15-2 record throughout the regular season and WHAC Tournament. The team opens up the tournament as the #6-seed, facing off in a rematch of their second game of the season against the 3^rd-seeded Cumberlands Patriots.

GAME INFORMATION

#6 Concordia Cardinals vs. #3 Cumberlands Patriots

May 10 | 5 PM | Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park | Pensacola, FL

Live Video ($) | Live Stats | Tickets ($)

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS

Head coach Pete Campbell is in his 8^th season with Cumberlands, sporting a 79-38 all time record as he enters his 4^th NAIA Invitational appearance with the Patriots after leading them to a 12-5 mark this season. The Patriots knocked off the Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion and #4-seed at the NAIA Invitational Reinhardt 12-11 in their conference semifinals before falling to the national #1-seed Keiser in the championship game.

The Cumberlands offense is led by freshman Will Rogers (65 points) and AAC First Team All-Conference member Christian Vanover (63), as Vanover ranks 9^th in the NAIA with 46 goals, while Rogers is 11^th in the nation with 32 assists this season. The Patriots have 7 double digit goal scorers this year, with 6 of those players tallying at least 20 goals this season and fellow AAC First Team All-Conference recipient Dawson Coltran joining Rogers and Vanover in the team's 30+ goal club.

Graduate student Nik Kubik anchors the majority of faceoffs for the Patriots, winning 114-177 attempts for an impressive 64.4% from the circle. The team's third AAC First Team All-Conference member Chrystian Coleman leads the team with 73 ground balls, while AAC Second Team Defender Gabe Schwaiger is second on the team with 44. The Patriots have four players with 20+ caused turnovers this season, led by Schwaiger (33) and fellow Second Team All-AAC member Taylor Long (28).

Junior Michael Toohey is the go to guy in net for Cumberlands, starting all 17 games this season with 174 saves and a 56.5% save percentage.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS

Head Coach Ty McGuire is in his fifth season as the Head Coach for the Cardinals, and guiding the team to a program-best 15-2 record overall and an undefeated 8-0 Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference regular season record. The team has now qualified for the NAIA Invitational twice following a historic season that featured their highest ever national ranking when they reached 4^th in early April. He has recorded a record of 33-27 in his five years at the helm. 

The Concordia offense has an array of contributors, as 8 different Cardinals have double digit goals, led by WHAC Second Team All-Conference midfielder Evan Stuart, whose 37 goals puts him 19^th in the country. Six total Cards enter the Invitational with 20+ goals, as Spencer Guppy (27 goals), Travis Wright (25 – WHAC Second Team), Andrew Simmons (23), Hunter McCarty (21 – WHAC Second Team), and Cooper Regimbal (20) all join Stuart as notable scoring contributors on an offense that had the 5^th highest goals-per-game average in the nation (13.88). Five different players have recorded at least 10 assists, led by Ross Preston (22 assists) and Wright (20). 

WHAC First Team All-Conference member Sam Saje is the faceoff man for the Cardinals, winning 232 out of 325 faceoff attempts for a 71.4% success rate. Saje has also recorded a team leading 156 ground balls, a mark that puts him 2^nd in the entire NAIA, while Jagger Sines is next with 74 (15^th in the NAIA). CUAA has 5 players with double digit caused turnovers, led by WHAC Second Team All-Conference defenders Joseph Loria (30) and Sines (20). Jeff Harrison (20), Cameron Dixon (13) and Second Team All-WHAC recipient Noah Sorenson (13) round out the 10+ caused turnover club.

Sam Bowling has been the lead man in between the pipes, starting all 16 games with 952:26 played in goal. Bowling has recorded a 56.9% save percentage on 165 saves this year.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)

The Cardinals and Patriots faced off earlier this season in late February, when Concordia played host to Cumberlands in an exciting, back-and-forth battle that the Patriots won 7-6 in overtime. CUAA picked up the first goal of the contest and held a 2-1 lead after the first quarter, but the Cumberlands responded with 4-straight to take a 5-2 lead at the halfway mark of the 3^rd quarter. The Cardinals responded with 4 consecutive goals of their own, led by an Evan Stuart hat trick, to take the lead back with 5:00 to go in the 4^th quarter, before the Patriots knotted the contest with 3:11 remaining in regulation. Cumberlands would score with 5 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to take home the victory.

The sides also faced off during the regular season in 2022 and 2020, with the Patriots winning each of those contests.  

STATS COMPARISON

ABOUT THE REST OF THE FIELD

The #1 overall seed at the Invitational is occupied by the previously mentioned Keiser University Seahawks. The Seahawks come into the tournament with an overall record of 14-1 and automatically qualified as Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champions. They are coached by Patrick Johnson, who is leading the team to their 6^th NAIA Invitational appearance in 7 seasons as head coach. 

The second seed in the tournament is fellow WHAC member Indiana Tech, also making their 6^th appearance. The Warriors enter the Invitational as Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Champions and currently hold a 15-3 record. They are coached by Bryan Seaman, who is currently in his 7^th season in the role. 

Reinhardt University, located in Waleska, Georgia, received the fourth overall seed in the Invitational, marking their 7^th appearance in the tournament, making them the only program in the NAIA to appear in each iteration of the national invite. The Eagles, who have won the previous 5 Invitationals, come into the tournament with a 13-2 record. Reinhardt is coached by Tyler Yelken, currently in his second season at the helm.  

Facing the Eagles will be the #5-seed Webber International University Warriors, making their first ever appearance in the tournament in just their third year of competition. The Warriors enter the Invitational with a 15-3 mark, the best record in the young program's history. Webber is coached by Chris Burdick, who has led the program since its inception.

The 7^th seed of the tournament is another familiar name, as the Siena Heights University Saints make their 3^rd appearance in the national tournament, the first for the Saints since 2018. SHU enters the Invitational with a 9-5 record and will get their third shot at Indiana Tech this year in the quarterfinals. Spencer Macek is at the helm for the Saints, now in his 2^nd season as head coach. 

The eighth seed in this year's tournament from Davenport, Iowa is the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees. The Bees enter the quarterfinals with a 9-6 record and fresh off a Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, which clinched an automatic bid for the Invitational. Head Coach Jon Paul is in his second season in the role with St. Ambrose, leading them to their 3^rd consecutive appearance at the tournament.

NAIA INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Quarterfinals - Wednesday, May 10

#8 St. Ambrose (Iowa) vs. #1 Keiser (Fla.), 10am (CT)

#5 Webber (Fla.) vs. #4 Reinhardt (Ga.), 1pm (CT)

#6 Concordia (Mich.) vs. #3 Cumberlands (Ky.), 4pm (CT)

#7 Siena Heights vs. #2 Indiana Tech, 7pm (CT)

Semifinals - Thursday, May 11

Winner 5v4 vs. Winner 8v1, 4pm (CT)

Winner 6v3 vs. Winner 7v2, 7pm (CT)

Championship - Saturday, May 13

Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2, 1pm (CT)