Reinhardt, Keiser Set to Meet in NAIA Men's Lacrosse Championship Game

(Story provided by NAIA Sports Communications)

SAVANNAH, Ga. – [Schedule] [Bracket] The 2024 NAIA Men's Lacrosse National Championship continued today at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Ga. with the top two seeds advancing to Saturday's Championship. Reinhardt returns to the championship game after a one-year hiatus, while Keiser reaches the finals for the second straight season.

No. 1 Reinhardt (Ga.) def. No. 4 Cumberlands (Ky.), 16-7 

• Reinhardt (Ga.) opened the game with two goals in just over two minutes of action to take the early advantage as they led wire-to-wire in the first semifinals.
• Both defenses came out and forced multiple turnovers before Cameron Cochran found Brady Hanak cutting toward the cage for a goal to extend their lead to 3-0. 
• Cumberlands got on the board at 3:35 when Nick Kava's shot crossed the line to make it a 3-1 game.  Both defensive kept up their intensity as the score remained 3-1 after the first quarter.
• The two teams traded goals before Maalek Wilson found Kava for a goal to pull the Patriots within one a 4-3 midway through the second period. 
• Reinhardt netted four of the next five goals as Cameron Cochran notched a goal and a pair of assists to extend their lead to 8-4 at halftime.
• The Eagles took advantage of a penalty as JR Sess notched a man-up goal two minutes into the third quarter.
• The two goalies combined for three saves, before Owen Hebenstreit notched a transition goal for Cumberlands to make it 9-5 in favor of the Eagles midway through the period. 
• Reinhardt added two of the next three goals,  including a man-down goal from JR Sess to extend their lead to 11-6 heading into the fourth quarter. 
• Ethan Lux and Sess add consecutive goals to open the fourth quarter making it 13-6 in favor of Reinhardt with 9:49 remaining.    The Eagles closed out the contest with three straight goals for the 16-7 final.
• Cameron Cochran led the way for Reinhardt with five assists and six points, while goalie Liam Wright made 15 saves in the win.  Sess netted five goals and six ground balls as Ethan Lux tallied a hat trick. 
• Nick Kava recorded a hat trick to lead the way for Cumberlands, while Michael Toohey made 15 saves.  Michael Adams went 14-23 on faceoff with nine ground balls.
• The top-seeded Eagles advance to the championship game Saturday at 1 p.m.

No. 2 Keiser (Fla.) def. No. 3 Webber (Fla.), 13-9 

• Keiser (Fla.) jumped out to a quick lead as Braeden Niemy netted an unassisted goal to take the 1-0 lead.
• Webber (Fla.) responded with a Blake Nelson goal, however, the Seahawks answered with a man-up goal from Ryan Rundle to put Keiser in front 2-1.
• The Warriors struck twice as Chase Jackson netted a goal before connecting with Nelson to put Webber in front 3-2 with 6:10 remaining. 
• A failed clear led to Keiser tying the score at 3-3 on a JP Prather goal. Both defenses picked up their intensity as the game remained tied after the first quarter.
• Webber retook the lead 19 seconds into the second period as Jack Ostrander found a cutting, Houston Finlayson. 
• Keiser scored five unanswered goals, from five different players to take an 8-4 advantage heading into halftime.
• After a two-hour rain delay, play resumed with Keiser scoring 16 seconds into the third quarter as Zach Crotwell scooped a ground ball and put it home.
• Webber responded 19 seconds later with a Christian Tapia goal to cut the deficit to 10-5.
• Keiser took advantage of a pair of penalties as they added a pair of man-up goals as part of a three-goal run to extend their lead to 13-5 midway through the third quarter.
• Jeremiah Loo led Webber's response with a goal and an assist in the final four minutes of the third period cutting the score to 13-7.
• After a failed clear, Finlayson notched an unassisted goal to pull Webber within five at 13-8, two minutes into the fourth quarter.
• Chase Jackson notched an unassisted goal midway through the quarter; however, Lucas Green made a pair of late saves for Keiser as the Seahawks earned the 13-9 win.
• Braden Niemy and Kegan Hufford finished with hat tricks to lead the way for Keiser.  Jackson Marshall tallied three caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.
• Leading the way for Webber was Blake Nelson, who netted three goals, while Chase Jackson added two goals and an assist.  Ryan Prylinski made 15 saves in the game as Dane Fasano scooped a team-high five ground balls.
• Keiser advances to the NAIA championship game against top-seed Reinhardt on Saturday at 1 p.m.