by Eric Willuweit
Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech men's lacrosse team had already clinched a spot in the post-season conference tournament heading into their match Saturday afternoon against Concordia Wisconsin. But the Scarlet Hawks were not content with just getting into the tournament, as they defeated the Falcons 11-7 at Stuart Field, and in the process jumped over the Falcons to claim the number two seed, allowing them to host Concordia Wisconsin Tuesday night in an instant rematch. The Scarlet Hawks won their sixth consecutive conference match, improving to 6-2 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play and 9-5 overall. The Falcons fell to 6-2 in conference play and dropped to the number three seed, while dropping to 11-5 overall.
The men's lacrosse program has come a long way in their brief four-year history. It started with a 1-1 record in their first season in 2020 until the season was shut down due to the pandemic. They have since gone from 2-7 overall and 2-5 in conference in 2021 to their record of 9-5 overall and 6-2 in conference just two years later.
Saturday's match came down to a dominant second quarter for the Scarlet Hawks. Trailing 3-1 after one quarter, the Hawks exploded for five unanswered goals in the second frame, and kept the Falcons at bay the rest of the match, with Concordia Wisconsin unable to get any closer than two goals down in the second half. The Falcons actually outplayed the Scarlet Hawks in most of the statistical categories in the match, including a decided advantage in the face-off circle (16 of 21). But a balanced scoring attack led Jackson Brass and Jonathan Vitale (3 goals each), and outstanding goalie play from Zane Handy (19 saves on 26 shots on goal - a .731 save percentage) were the differences in the game.
First Quarter (Concordia Wisconsin 3 - Illinois Tech 1)
Brass opened the scoring with an unassisted goal 66 seconds into the match. The Falcons got the equalizer at the 9:12 mark when Chase Drexler scored unassisted. The teams went scoreless for the next eight minutes, until the Falcons scored a pair of goals in the final minute by Gio Nowotarski and Pat Ryan to take a 3-1 lead at the end of one.
Second Quarter (Illinois Tech 5 - Concordia Wisconsin 0)
The Scarlet Hawks got down to business in the second quarter, putting up five goals while holding the Falcons off the scoreboard. Brass scored his second of the match at 12:17 unassisted. Reed Tangeman followed with a goal on a feed from Brass at 8:50. At 4:16, Owen Huard hooked up with Tangeman for a man-up goal. Then the Scarlet Hawks responded to the Falcons scoring two goals in the final minute of the first quarter by scoring a pair in the final minute of the second quarter, with Tangeman scoring his second of the match at 57 seconds and Vitale scoring a goal-mouth tally at 26 seconds on a beautiful feed from Yano Porter. The Hawks entered the break leading 6-3.
Third Quarter (Illinois Tech 2 - Concordia Wisconsin 2)
Coming out of halftime, Concordia Wisconsin came out re-energized, with Nowotarski scoring his second of the match on a feed from Max Esposito just 48 seconds into the third quarter, pulling the Falcons within 6-4. But the Scarlet Hawks would rebound and push back. Vitale scored his second of the match at 10:37 on a feed from Brass. Huard followed up three minutes later with another man-up goal, with an assist from Brass. The Falcons were able to get an unassisted goal from Matthew Sierzega with four seconds remaining to get back to a three-goal deficit entering the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter (Illinois Tech 3 - Concordia Wisconsin 2)
Illinois Tech added on to their lead in the fourth quarter. Vitale secured the hat trick at 13:08 on another goal-mouth feed from Porter. Brass would follow with his third goal of the match at 6:37, on a cut to the slot and taking a feed from Tangeman and putting it past Falcons' goalie Evan Leden up high for a 10-5 lead. The teams would trade goals over the final six minutes of the match. Ryan scored his second goal of the match for the Falcons at 5:50 on a feed from Drexler. Spencer Meace responded 70 seconds later for the Hawks on a feed from Brass. Nowotarski closed out the scoring with his third goal of the match, unassisted at 3:13.
Scarlet Hawks Standouts
- Brass with 3 goals on 3 shots on goal, adding 4 assists and 3 ground balls.
- Vitale with 3 goals on 5 shots on goal.
- Tangeman with 2 goals on 2 shots on goal, and 2 assists.
- Huard with a pair of man-up goals on 2 shots.
- Meace with a goal, 3 ground balls and a caused turnover.
- Nehemyah Green caused 3 turnovers and 2 ground balls.
- Handy with his second consecutive game of 19 saves on 26 shots for a .731 save percentage.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks and Falcons will face each other in a rematch Tuesday night at Stuart Field, with the NACC Men's Lacrosse tournament semi-final taking place at 7pm.