FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Indiana Tech men's soccer team advanced to the WHAC Tournament Championship match for the fifth-consecutive year with a 3-2 double overtime result versus Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday. The win moves the Warriors to 12-2-5 in 2022, while UNOH drops to 14-2-4. The Warriors will face Madonna University for the tournament title on Saturday, Nov. 12th, at 2 PM in Livonia, Mich. Tech will seek to avenge a 1-0 loss to the Crusaders on Oct. 26th, and take home the postseason trophy for the fourth-straight season. Based on MU's regular-season WHAC crown, both Madonna and Tech already have automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships confirmed via the conference's automatic qualification procedures.

The Warriors broke through first this afternoon on a Douglas Appiah goal, his fifth of the season, in the 18th minute on an assist from Lucca Motta. The lead lasted through halftime until the 58th minute, when UNOH's Simon Von Benzon rifled a shot past Jaume Salvado to the far post from 18 yards. After a scorless final 30 minutes, the game came back to life in the first overtime period.

Tech took advantage of the chance to re-set and scored two goals in the opening 4:19 of the first extra period. Ryan Steele gave Tech a 2-1 lead at 92:00 from Brendan Sidaway's assist. The two reversed roles two minutes later as Steele set up Sidaway for the eventual match-winner that put Tech up 3-1, albeit only momentarily.

In the 97th minute, Racer forward Gonzalo La Chica deposted a Shane Power free kick in to the back of the net to give UNOH hope at 3-2, though Tech killed off the remaining 13-plus minutes to book a familiar place in the WHAC final. Steele's goal was his third of the campaign, while Sidaway's decider was his second in 2022.

UNOH out-shot the Warriors 19-11 over 110 minutes and held a slight 6-4 lead in corner kicks. Tech committed 27 fouls to the Racers' 15 in a match largely dominated by the referee's whistle. The teams also saw 12 cards dealt out in the match, including a 109th-minute red card to UNOH. Salvado finished with eight saves, while Racer netminder Danilo Abayo made four stops. 

Tech last played Madonna in a league final back in 2019, with the Orange & Black claiming a 1-0 victory in regulation.This will be the Warriors' first league title match on the road, having hosted previous WHAC finals in 2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Tech owns a 4-1 record across those five finals, losing only the 2018 version to Lawrence Tech 3-0. Though a deep dive in to the history books would be required, Sidaway would likely become the first WHAC men's soccer student-athlete to compete in five league title matches, should the fifth-year midfielder step on the field at MU this weekend.