(Ann Arbor, MI) Concordia Men's Lacrosse hosted Indiana Tech for the WHAC Championship for the second season in a row. The game was a close defensive battle throughout, until Indiana Tech scored seven straight goals in the second and third quarters to go up five. The Cardinals came back from behind and forced the game into overtime, but ultimately fell 12-11.
Hunter McCarty and Ivan Progar led the team with a hat trick each, followed by Travis Wright with a pair. Sam Bowling had 11 saves on the day, while Noah Sorenson and Jeff Harrison each caused two turnovers.
Sam Saje put the Cardinals up immediately with a goal after winning the faceoff seven seconds in. Both defenses began to settle in following that, slowing down the scoring. Indiana Tech evened up the game about five minutes later, but Hunter McCarty pulled Concordia ahead shortly after with a goal from a tight angle. The Warriors scored with a minute remaining to make it 2-2 after the first.
Evan Stuart and Andrew Simmons scored consecutive goals to open up the second quarter, followed by an Indiana Tech goal and Ivan Progar response to make it 5-3. The Warriors answered with a pair of goals to make it all knotted up a 5 at the half.
Indiana Tech came out strong in the third quarter, scoring 5 unanswered goals in the period. Concordia responded in the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals from Ivan Progar, beating the Warrior keeper high to cut into the deficit. The teams traded a goal each around the ten-minute mark, with Travis Wright scoring a man-up goal. Then with just over two minutes left, the Cardinals erased the Warriors' three goal lead with Travis Wright scoring again and Hunter McCarty burying a pair as well. McCarty scored the game tying goal with nine seconds remaining, picking up a loose ball in front of the crease and scoring with just one second left on the possession clock.
That forced the game into sudden-death overtime. The Cardinals created a turnover after the faceoff, earning them the first possession. Hunter McCarty took a shot from the left side of the goal, but was denied by the Warrior goalie. Indiana Tech cleared the ball and scored on their first possession of overtime to win the game, and the WHAC Tournament.
The Cardinals will now await word on if they will receive an at-large bid to the NAIA Invitational for the second straight season.
