by Eric Willuweit

Chicago, Ill. - In one of the biggest matches in the program's young history, the Illinois Tech men's lacrosse team came out fired up and the performance on the field matched their energy, as the Scarlet Hawks rode an 11-2 first half uprising to a 14-7 victory over Benedictine Tuesday night at Stuart Field. In the process, the Scarlet Hawks won their fifth consecutive conference victory, moving to 5-2 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play and holding on to a top four spot for a post-season tournament berth with one regular season match remaining. Illinois Tech also improved to 8-5 overall. The Eagles fell to 4-3 in conference and 4-11 overall.

The Scarlet Hawks opened up a 4-0 lead on Benedictine 10 minutes into the opening quarter, and then used a 7-0 run in the second quarter to put the Eagles in an 11-2 halftime deficit that they could never recover from. The Hawks offensive output was also supported by a strong defensive effort, with 10 caused turnovers, clear totals more than double of Benedictine, and an exceptional night in net for Zane Handy, with 19 saves on 26 shots for a .731 save percentage.

Illinois Tech also took advantage of some undisciplined play by the Eagles, scoring on four of twelve man-up opportunities. The Eagles had ten and a half minutes of penalty time on 11 infractions.

First Quarter (Illinois Tech 4 - Benedictine 2)

Illinois Tech opened the scoring in the first period with Aidan Gans scoring an unassisted tally at the 13:16 mark. Gans followed that up just over six minutes later with another unassisted goal at 7:00. Two minutes later Reed Tangeman scored a man-up goal on a feed from Jackson Brass at the five-minute mark, giving the Hawks a 3-0 lead. It took the Hawks only 22 seconds to expand their lead to 4-0, with Owen Huard scoring unassisted. The Eagles Ben Zimmerman scored a pair of goals in the quarter's final two minutes to cut the Eagles deficit to 4-2 heading into the second quarter.

Second Quarter (Illinois Tech 7 - Benedictine 0)

Illinois Tech overwhelmed Benedictine in the second quarter. After Brass scored a man-down goal 49 seconds into the quarter to give the Scarlet Hawks a 5-2 lead, the Scarlet Hawks scored four goals in less than four minutes to open up a 9-2 lead, putting the Eagles into a huge, early hole. Brass had a pair of goals sandwiched around a Spencer Meace tally, with Tangeman finishing off the four-minute burst with a man-up goal at 3:39, assisted by Brass. Gans and Jonathan Vitale capped off the scoring in the second quarter with goals in the final minute, giving Illinois Tech an 11-2 lead at the break.

Third Quarter (Illinois Tech 1 - Benedictine 1)

The third quarter was a much tighter affair, with each team only able to muster one goal. Brass scored his fourth of the match unassisted at 5:41. The Eagles' Jordan Chock answered with an unassisted tally of his own at 4:09, but the Eagles still carried a nine-goal deficit into the fourth quarter at 12-3.

Fourth Quarter (Benedictine 4 - Illinois Tech 2)

After neither team scoring in the first five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Hawks tacked on to their lead. Brass scored his fifth goal of the match on a man-up opportunity at 9:51 (assist Ryan Arbour). Adam Mulka followed that up with at goal at 7:47 on an assist from Diego Sosa, giving Illinois Tech a commanding 14-3 lead late into the match. For their part, the Eagles would not go quietly. Playing with desperation, Benedictine scored the games final four goals over the final six-plus minutes of the quarter. Benedictine's Will Robinson scored three unassisted goals in a span of four minutes to pull the Eagles within 14-6. Zimmerman notched his third goal of the match with 1:35 remaining on a man-up opportunity, but the Eagles ultimately ran out of time.

Scarlet Hawks Standouts

• Brass paced the Hawks with 5 goals and 2 assists, with 2 ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Gans with 3 goals on 3 shots on goal.
• Tangeman with a pair of goals.
• Meace with a goal, three ground balls and 1 caused turnover.
• Handy with 19 saves on 26 shots, for a .731 save percentage.

Up Next

The Scarlet Hawks will be back at Stuart Field on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 PM ET, when they host second place Concordia Wisconsin for another key NACC matchup. The Scarlet Hawks have an opportunity to possibly claim second place in the conference and secure the number two seed in the conference tournament with a victory, ensuring a semi-final home match next week.