Dubuque, Iowa - Although the Illinois Tech men's lacrosse team had already clinched a spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament, the Scarlet Hawks were looking to improve their seeding position when they traveled to Dubuque to take on the Spartans in a big conference clash. Despite jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, the Scarlet Hawks couldn't hold off the Dubuque attack, as the Spartans scored 11 goals over a three quarter span en route to a 13-8 victory. The Hawks fell to 7-3 in the NACC and to 8-7 overall.
Despite the loss, the Scarlet Hawks still control the ability to secure the fourth seed in the post-season tournament, thus allowing them to host a quarterfinals match next Saturday at Stuart Field. If they win their match at Lake Forest on Wednesday, they will finish as the number four seed. A loss at Lake Forest and a combination of results by MSOE and Concordia Wisconsin would put the Hawks at the fifth or sixth seed.
The Hawks got off to a fast start, scoring the games first three goals in the opening five minutes of the first quarter.
Connor Montgomery started the scoring, tallying his first of four goals on the day when he scored unassisted at 13:38.
Jackson Brass followed a couple minutes later with an unassisted goal at 11:28, his 29th on the season.
Diego Sosa would finish the Hawks' scoring stretch with his 25th goal of the season at 9:57.
The Spartans would erase the Hawks lead, however. Aiden Ennett would score a pair of goals in 31 seconds to cut the Hawks lead tyo 3-2. Giovanni Silva would score at 4:42 to tie the match at 3-3, where the teams stood after the end of the quarter.
After almost a 10 minute scoreless stretch, Aidan Culligan would score the Spartans fourth straight goal at 5:43 of the second quarter to put Dubuque up 4-3.
Marc Rebusi would stop the Spartans scoring spree, scoring on a feed from Brass at 4:52 to tie the match at 4-4. The tie would not last long however, as Dubuque's Nate Richardson scored at the 2:34 mark to open up a 5-4 lead. Sam Todd would tack on another goal at 1:08 to give Dubuque a 6-4 lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter proved to be the deciding quarter, with the Spartans scoring five more goals while shutting out the Hawks to take an 11-4 lead. The goal by the Spartans Aydan Rathsabandith at the 1:00 mark was the seventh straight goal for Dubuque.
The Hawks would outscore the Spartans 4-2 in the fourth quarter, including three more goals by Montgomery, but the Hawks would fall short 13-8.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Inside The Box Score
- Sam Todd of Dubuque led all scorers with 6 points on 3 goals and 3 assists
- Shots were relatively even, with Dubuque edging Illinois Tech 34-33
- The Spartans held a 33-22 advantage in ground balls
- The Hawks were 0-3 on man-up opportunities; The Spartans were 1-3
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks travel to Lake Forest on Wednesday for their final match of the regular season, with faceoff scheduled for 3:00pm. A win by the Hawks secures a first-round home match on Saturday in the NACC Men's Lacrosse tournament.
