Mequon, Wis. - In a "win and your in" scenario for Illinois Tech men's lacrosse Saturday in Wisconsin, it was the host Concordia University Falcons who punched their ticket to the NACC post-season tournament, edging the Scarlet Hawks 8-7. The loss eliminated Illinois Tech from post-season play. The finished the season 4-4 in NACC play, and 7-8 overall. The Falcons finished 6-2 in the conference, and 10-6 overall. They earned the number three seed in the tournament and will travel to number two seed Benedictine on Wednesday, May 3rd.
For the Scarlet Hawks, they came agonizingly close to securing their first post-season berth in the program's short history. The one-goal loss to Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday, coupled with a one-goal loss at Benedictine this past Wednesday sealed the team's fate.
Penalties proved to be a difference-maker in the match, as the Falcons took advantage of eight man-up opportunities, scoring on two of them. The Hawks were 0-2 with the man advantage.
Illinois Tech held a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter on the strength of goals by Jonathan Vitale, Ty Dwyer, Reed Tangemen and Spencer Meace.
Concordia Wisconsin responded in the second quarter by outscoring the Hawks 3-1, and the teams went into the break tied at 5-5.
The Falcons' Chase Drexler scored 41 seconds into the third quarter to take a brief 6-5 lead. The Hawks' Yano Porter netted the equalizer at the 10:08 mark, and Vitale notched his second of the match at 2:35 to give the Hawks a 7-6 lead heading into the final frame.
The score remained in the Hawks favor late into the fourth quarter until Jack Gromosky scored at 6:33 to tie the match at 7-7. The Falcons' Keijo Day scored his fourth goal of the match less than three minutes later to give Concordia Wisconsin the lead and final margin of victory, 8-7.
Scarlet Hawks Watch
- Meace and Vitale each scored a pair of goals in the contest
- Porter had a goal and three assists
- Jackson Brass finished with three assists
- Henry Rankin recovered five ground balls and caused five turnovers
- Zane Handy recorded 13 saves on 21 shots faced
Falcons Watch
- Day finished with four goals and one assist for the Falcons
- Gromosky had two goals and one assist
- Noah Brandt recovered seven ground balls and was 16/18 on face-offs
- Adam Nichols recorded 15 saves on 22 shots faced
Inside the Box Score
- The Scarlet Hawks outshot the Falcons 43-33
- The Hawks were a perfect 28-28 in clear attempts
- The Falcons had a decided advantage in the face-off circle, winning 16 of 18
- The Hawks were whistled for five minutes and thirty seconds of penalties. The Falcons were penalized for 1:30 total.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks have concluded their 2022 season, falling just short of a post-season berth. And while the team will be losing three graduating seniors, they return a host of underclassmen along with key veteran players, and are poised to make a run at post-season play next season.