Grand Rapids, MI – The fourth-seed UC men's lacrosse team led wire-to-wire to defeat fifth-seed Benedictine 17-10 in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Invitational Wednesday night at AQ Field. With the win the Patriots advance to the semifinals and improve to 13-4, while the Ravens move to 10-6.

Kody Swann, second team NAIA All-American, got things started for UC as he won the opening faceoff.  On the ensuing Patriots possession Dylan Crouch found Caleb Elerick, who wrapped around the cage and put a shot just inside the near post for a 1-0 lead.  The Ravens evened the score before Cumberlands took advantage of a Benedictine penalty as Thomas Fogarty connected with Crouch for the man-up goal with 10:44 remaining.  Dalton Smith and Sam Collinson netted consecutive goals to extend UC's lead to 4-1 with 5:06 left in the opening quarter. Benedictine cut the lead to 4-2 as Ryan Heinser took advantage of a pair of Patriot penalties for the man-up goal.

Benedictine added a goal 19 seconds into the second quarter to cut the lead to 4-3.  Both defenses stepped up forcing numerous turnovers as the game saw a seven minute scoreless drought.  Cumberlands snapped the scoreless drought as Fogarty connected with Crouch for the second time in the game.  UC won the ensuing faceoff and on the Patriots possession Henry Quaye put a well-placed shot past the keeper for an unassisted goal to make it 6-3.  Will Settle added a save in the final minutes keeping the score 6-3 at the break.

UC continued their strong play into the second half as Quaye found Elerick in front of the cage for a man-up goal two minutes into the third quarter.  In the quarter the two teams combined for 19 turnovers and 12 shots, with both teams scoring a goal in the final minutes to make give Cumberlands an 8-4 advantage. The Patriots shot came out of the stick of Anthony Gray with 48 seconds remaining. 

A game that started out as a defensive battle for the first three quarters turned into an offensive showdown in the fourth quarter as the teams combined for 15 goals and just three turnovers.  Quaye got things started firing a pair of shots towards the cage and scooping the ground balls before making a diving shot for the goal to extend the lead to 9-4.  The Patriots netted four of the next six goals, over a four minute span, to take a 13-7 lead with 8:02 remaining. The score stayed that way until the 5:33 mark when Crouch found Fogarty cutting in front of the cage, Fogarty caught the ball and made an over-the-shoulder shot into the cage.  The Ravens looked to cut into the lead; however Settle made one of his eight saves and on the ensuing transition pushed the ball up to Fogarty, who bounced a shot into the cage to make it 15-7 with 4:50 remaining.  After a Ravens goal, Swann won the ensuing faceoff, took it himself for an unassisted goal with 4:40 left in the game.  Benedictine tallied two of the final three goals for the 17-10 final.

Fogarty led the way for Cumberlands with four goals and two assists, while Crouch and Elerick notched four points each. Quaye and Collinson also chipped in a pair of goals.  Swann went 18-27 on faceoffs and scooped a game-high 13 ground balls to go along with two points.  Jaret Williamson, Elerick, and Bryan Morgan finished with two caused turnovers apiece.

The Patriots will return to field Friday, May 10, when they face top-seed Reinhardt in the semifinals of the NAIA Invitational.  Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. with live video available here and live stats available here. 

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