SAVANNAH, Ga. — A six-goal run in the first quarter propelled top-seed Reinhardt to its fourth straight NAIA Men’s Lacrosse Invitational Championship with a 17-8 win over No. 2 Indiana Tech Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Eagles cap off a perfect season at 17-0, while the Warriors finished at 18-2 and NAIA National Runner-Up.
Reinhardt came out firing on all cylinders outshooting Indiana Tech 20-6 and outscoring the Warriors 8-1 in the first quarter. Gavin Banks got things started for the Eagles with an assist and a goal within the first six minutes of the game. Nate Langille put the Warriors on the board, however, Gavin Banks converted a man-down goal to extend the Eagles lead to 3-1. Conner Mills tallied an unassisted goal at the 6:17 mark, which sparked a 5-0 for Reinhardt to close out the quarter with an 8-1 advantage.
Both defenses clamped down in the second quarter forcing five turnovers each, while the two goalies combined for seven saves in the period. Offensively, Mills netted a goal, before dishing out an assist to Gavin Banks to extend Reinhardt’s lead to 10-1 heading into the break.
The Eagles extended their lead to 11-1 45 seconds into the third quarter. Indiana Tech started to rally back with back-to-back goals from Justin Hindman and Khanan Bodley to make it 11-3 with 10:14 remaining. The two teams traded possession before Joe Solin notched an unassisted goal for the Warriors with 4:25 left in the third quarter. Reinhardt responded with two goals in the final minute of the quarter to extend their lead to 13-4.
Reinhardt scored consecutive goals to open their fourth quarter, however, the Warriors responded with a pair of goals of their own to make it 15-6 with 6:58 remaining. Mills added a pair of goals two minutes later to extend the Eagles lead to 17-6. Indiana Tech added a pair of goals in the final three minutes for the 17-8 final.
The Eagles were led by Mills, who tallied four goals and five assists in the game. Gavin Banks netted a game-high five goals, while Kyle Banks and Dillan Bousquet each tallied hat tricks. Jr Sess went 18-26 on faceoffs with six ground balls tying Mat Potvin for the team-high. Matt Webb made 13 saves in the cage in the win.
Indiana Tech was led by Langille who finished with three goals, while Justin Hindman netted a pair of goals. Tom Piotrowski and Jordan Reyes each scooped three ground balls as Evan Schuster made seven saves in the first half, while Chad Nedbal made a pair of saves in the second half.
After the game, Reinhardt’s Head Coach John Snow was named the 2021 NAIA Men’s Lacrosse National Coach of the Year. In addition to that 12 players from the tournament were selected to the NAIA All-Tournament Team highlighted by the tournament MVP which was given to the Eagles Conner Mills.
2021 NAIA Men’s Lacrosse
All-Tournament Team
Attack — Thomas Fogarty, Cumberlands (Ky.)
Attack — John Senior, Keiser (Fla.)
Attack — Gavin Banks, Reinhardt (Ga.)
Midfield — Hunter East, Keiser (Fla.)
Midfield — Zane Anderson, Reinhardt (Ga.)
Midfield — Andrew Ryan, Indiana Tech
Specialist — JR Sess, Reinhardt (Ga.)
LSM — Jacob Morgan, Cumberlands (Ky.)
Defense — Sam Anderson, Indiana Tech
Defense — Fisher Nuss, Reinhardt (Ga.)
Defense — Dalton Smith, Cumberlands (Ky.)
Goalie — Matt Webb, Reinhardt (Ga.)
MVP — Conner Mills, Reinhardt (Ga.)