Grand Rapids, MI – The fourth-seed UC men's lacrosse team netted three second quarter goals to force a halftime tie, however it wasn't enough as the Patriots fell to top-seed Reinhardt 12-8 in the semifinals of the NAIA Invitational Friday night at AQ Athletic Field. With the win the Eagles improve to 15-1, while the Patriots finish the season 13-5.

"These guys played hard and left everything on the field today," said Head Coach Pete Campbell. "I couldn't be more proud of the effort and of the accomplishments that this group have had all season."

Reinhardt came out strong netted three goals in the first eight minutes to take 3-0 lead with 6:56 remaining.  Kody Swann won the ensuing faceoff, his 700^th career faceoff win, as Nick DiFranco scooped the ground ball.  The Eagles added an unassisted goal to extend their lead to 4-0.  UC started to battled back as Thomas Fogarty found Dylan Crouch for a goal with 53 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 4-1 after the opening quarter.

The second quarter began as a defensive battle as both teams were held in check for the first ten minutes.  The Patriots broke through as Dalton Smith fired a laser shot just under the cross bar for a goal to make it 4-2.  Two minutes later Smith added another goal to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 2:33 remaining.  Cumberlands batted all the way back as Fogarty scooped the ground ball, off an Anthony Gray shot, and fired it home to even the score at 4-4 heading into halftime. 

Reinhardt netted back-to-back goals to start the third quarter and take a 6-4 lead with 10:13 remaining. The score remained that way until the 4:55 mark when George Shunnarah forced a turnover, scooped the ground ball and put a well-placed shot past the goalie to cut it 6-5.  The Eagles added a goal in the closing minutes to take a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter.

Will Settle began the fourth quarter with a save and on the ensuing Patriots possession Caleb Elerick found Sam Collinson for the one-timer to cut the deficit to one.  Reinhardt added two straight goals before Mitchell scooped the ground ball and scored an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to 9-7 with 8:33 remaining.  Reinhardt netted three of the next four goals for the 12-8 final.

Swann led the way for the Patriots finishing 15-23 on faceoffs with eight ground balls, while DiFranco scooped seven ground balls to finish with 398 for his career.  Offensively, Smith tallied a pair of goals, while Fogarty and Crouch added a goal and an assist.  DiFranco forced a team-high three caused turnovers as Smith and Bryan Morgan each force two.  Settle made six saves.

UC tied the program record with 13 wins and captured their first AAC regular season title.  Cumberlands also a plethora of game and team records throughout the season.   

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