LIVONIA, Mich. – The #5 ranked Indiana Tech men's lacrosse team travelled north for the WHAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday afternoon where the three-seeded Warriors met with #1 ranked and one-seeded Madonna Crusaders.
The Crusaders entered the day with a near perfect 17-1 record, with their only loss coming to NCAA D2 side Davenport University. Madonna has cruised past every opponent they have played this season, with all but one of their wins coming by double digits. The Warriors, however, have been rolling as of late, defeating Lawrence Tech 14-6 in the first round of the tournament and then #3 ranked Aquinas 21-11 in the semifinals in a huge statement game that gave the Warriors a big confidence boost heading into the championship game.
Collin Howard gave the Warriors an early 1-0 lead, but the Crusaders would then score six in a row to end the first quarter. After trading goals to open the second, Tech would find its rhythm and score five straight goals to tie the game at seven. Both teams would add another goal to make it 8-8 going into halftime. Madonna would build an 11-9 lead in the third quarter, but Tech would again tie it up at the beginning of the fourth. The Crusaders regained the lead with a 3-0 run to go up 14-11 with 6:52 remaining in the game. The Warriors wouldn't quit though as
Jake Deacon brough them within two at the 4:50 mark and then
Cam Fewster would score a pair of goals at 3:53 and 3:21 to tie the game at 14. However, Madonna would eventually break the deadlock with the game winning goal with 2:04 left. The Warriors had two shots in the final minute to find another equalizer and force overtime but were denied in the end falling 14-15. Madonna escaped with the title, winning both the regular season and tournament, but Tech nearly upset Madonna in their closest battle of the season. Fewster led the Warriors with seven points, scoring four goals and adding three assists, while Maddox Scwartz had six ground balls.
Sam Park made eight saves and had one ground ball in goal for Tech.
The Warriors now sit at 12-8 overall this season. With Madonna grabbing the WHAC auto bid to the national tournament, Tech will await the selection show in hopes for an at-large berth. The selection show is set for Monday, May 4
th at 5pm (CT).
- TECH -
