Savannah, GA – The third-seed UC men's lacrosse utilize a balanced attack and outscored #7 Madonna 9-2 in the second to pull away for the 15-7 win in the semifinals of the 2025 NAIA Men's Lacrosse Championship Thursday night at Memorial Stadium. With the win, Cumberlands advances to the national championship game for the first time in program history, while improving to 13-4 on the season.
Nick Kava led the way for Cumberlands with three goals and an assist, while
Will Rogers and
Evan Barton tallied a pair of goals and two assists each.
Mason Miller completed his second straight hat trick, while five other Pats player netted goals.
Jacob Ingle tallied a team-high three caused turnovers and four ground balls as
Taylor Long scooped seven ground balls.
Nathan Foskey made eight saves, including four in the second quarter, in the win.
For the second straight game Cumberlands scored on their opening possession this time
Johnathon Vanover connected with
Mason Miller for a goal to make it 1-0. After Madonna tied the game,
Maalek Wilson forced a turnover and on the ensuing transition
Will Rogers finished it off for a goal to put UC in front 2-1. The Patriots defense kept up their intensity notching six caused turnovers over the five minutes of action, while Rogers found
Evan Barton for a goal in the closing seconds of the quarter to make it a 3-1 advantage.
Ashton Clayburn added his second caused turnover of the game before Kava fired a rocket into the cage making it a 4-1 lead. Foskey made a save before UC worked the ball around as Kava connected again for his second goal of the period. Foskey made a trio of saves while the two team traded goals making it 6-2 with 3:44 remaining. Madonna started to rally with three straight goals cutting the Patriots lead to 6-5 at half.
The defensive battle continued in the third quarter with both goalies making big time saves to keep it a one possession game. Midway through the quarter Rogers found Miller cutting towards the cage for a goal to extend UC's lead to 7-5. The Patriots defense recorded a pair of caused turnovers as the fast pace tempo continue throughout the period. In the closing minute of the quarter, Cumberlands tacked on a transition goal from Miller to extend their lead to 8-5.
The Patriots carried that momentum into the fourth quarter adding two transition goals from
Maalek Wilson and
Gabe Schwaiger to extend their lead to 10-5 with 12:31 remaining. Madonna added a goal, before a Kava goal sparked a four goal run that included goals from
Alex Heck and
Zachary Swann to make it 14-6.
Johnny Simpson found
Weston Pinschenat for a goal in the closing minute of the game for the 15-7 final.
Cumberlands advances into the inaugural NAIA Men's Lacrosse Championship Game, where they are set to face top-seed Keiser. The championship game is scheduled for Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
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