PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 1-ranked Indiana Tech men's lacrosse team moved one game closer to perfection Thursday evening as they defeated No. 4-ranked University of the Cumberlands, 11-8, in the semifinals of the NAIA National Invitational at Ashton Bronsnaham Athletic Park. It is the 18^th straight win for the Warriors as they advance to the national title game for the second straight season. Head coach Bryan Seaman also earned his 100th career victory.
 
Andrew Ryan and Samuel Bodley both had three goals and one assist while collecting five and four ground balls, respectively. Blaine Flanigan had six ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers while Kyle TwoBulls made 11 saves and picked up five ground balls in the cage.
 
In a rematch of last years semifinals, the Patriots struck first as Thomas Fogarty scored the first of his four goals with 11:20 to go in the first, but the Warriors responded with goals from Ryan and Louis Czech at the 5:20 and 2:05 marks. Cumberlands tied the game with 38 seconds left in the period before scoring two more goals in the first seven minutes of the second to go up 4-2.
 
Bodley converted on a man-up opportunity with 7:20 remaining in the first half to spark a 3-0 run for the Warriors as Devin Macomber put Tech up 5-4 with 22 seconds left in the quarter. Ryan and Bodley both found the back of the cage again in the first six minutes of the third quarter to put the Orange and Black up 7-4.
 
The two sides traded goals over the final five minutes of the third with the Warriors holding a 9-6 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of the game while the two rivals continued their trading of goals in the fourth but Tech never allowing the Patriots to get within three goals and TwoBulls making two big saves on a UC power play in the first 2:30 to keep the Warriors on top and preserve the win.
 
Tech (18-0) will look to win its first national championship in program history Saturday afternoon as they take on No. 2-ranked and four-time national champion Reinhardt University, who has defeated the Warriors in all six of their previous matchups, including three times in the NAIA National Invitational. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m. ET from Ashton Bronsnaham Athletic Park.