Williamsburg, KY – The sixth-ranked and fourth-seed UC men's lacrosse took an early lead and looked for a fourth quarter rally however came up short falling to second-ranked Keiser 13-4 in the AAC Championship game Saturday afternoon at the UC Lacrosse Complex.  Keiser improves to 14-1 on the season and capture their first AAC Tournament title, while the Patriots move to 12-5 on the season.

UC had six players tally a point, including four different goal scorers in the contest.  Michael Toohey made 13 saves in the game and scooped three ground balls between the pipes.  Jacob Bush notched a team-high six ground balls and three caused turnovers.  Taylor Long and Gabe Schwaiger combined for five caused turnovers. 

The game opened as a defensive battle as they was only one goal scored in the first quarter.  The Patriots forced three Seahawks turnovers in the first five minutes of play to dominate the possession.  Offensively, the Patriots put six shots on frame in the first ten minutes but couldn't convert as the game remained scoreless.  In the closing minutes of the first period Tate Crowell forced and turnover and scooped a ground ball.  On that possession Dawson Coltran dodged in and fired a shot into the back of the cage to give Cumberlands the 1-0 lead. 

Keiser won the opening possession of the second quarter and took advantage of a Patriot penalty to score two goals in the first minute of the period.  UC defense settled down and forced a pair of Keiser turnovers, while Cumberlands looked for the equalizer, however, Christian Tomei made five saves to preserve the Seahawks one goal lead.  The score remained that way until the 5:14  mark when Keiser tallied another goal to take a 3-1 lead into the break. 

The Seahawks went 6-7 on faceoffs in the third quarter and recorded six unanswered goals to extend their lead to 9-1 with 3:08 remaining.  The Patriots looked to battle back as Nick Kava netted his 20^th goals of the season to make it 9-2 heading into the fourth quarter.

Cumberlands carried the momentum into the fourth quarter as Tanner Popovich found Christian Vanover for a man-up goal three minutes in.  Toohey made one of his five fourth quarter saves and in the transition Vanover found Chrystian Coleman in the middle of the field, who passed it to Will Rogers for a goal to cut the deficit to 9-4.  That was the closest UC came as Keiser notched four straight goals for the 13-4 final.

For the Patriots, Michael Toohey, Chrystian Coleman, and Dawson Coltran were named to the AAC All-Tournament Team for their efforts in helping UC to a runner-up finish.

Cumberlands will now await the NAIA announcement for the NAIA Invitational.  The announcement should come out on Sunday, April 30, with the NAIA Invitational set to begin Wednesday, May 10, in Pensacola, FL.

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