Eagles Take Control Early in Stop One of Florida Trip

BABSON PARK, Fla. - Reinhardt Men's Lacroose broke a first-quarter tie with three straight goals and never let Webber International back into the match, rolling to an 11-2 lacrosse victory Thursday afternoon behind a balanced attack and steady work in goal from Michael Scoleri. The matchup had the current NAIA-ranked #5 Reinhart Eagles facing the #10-ranked Webber Warriors.

Webber scored first when Isaiah Espaillat found the net at 14:05 of the first quarter, but Reinhardt answered quickly and decisively. Marshall Cisco tied it 1-1 at 8:36 on an assist from Luke Greer, and the Eagles kept pressing. Benjamin Shackelford helped ignite the swing, and Bennett Morrison's goal at 5:31, assisted by Joey Amatulli, pushed Reinhardt in front 3-1 by the end of the opening quarter. That early response set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The Eagles widened the gap in the second quarter, turning a two-goal edge into a commanding halftime lead. Shackelford scored at 9:12 to make it 4-1, then Greer converted at 7:04 off a Shackelford assist. Reinhardt continued to capitalize on its chances late in the half, and Rett Canon's goal with 51 seconds left, set up by Amatulli, sent the Eagles to the break ahead 7-1. Reinhardt finished with a 34-19 advantage in shots and put 27 attempts on goal.

Reinhardt kept control in the second half. Carter Garrison scored at 7:05 of the third quarter to extend the lead to 8-1, and the Eagles held Webber scoreless for the entire period. Greer added a man-up goal early in the fourth quarter, at 14:31, again with Amatulli recording the assist, for a 10-1 lead. Webber's only second-half goal came from Nick Sheaffer at the 8:00 mark of the fourth, but Canon answered later with his second goal of the day at 3:14 to close the scoring at 11-2.

Greer finished with two goals and one assist while putting seven of his 10 shots on target. Shackelford added two goals and one assist, Morrison scored twice, and Canon also had two goals. Amatulli quietly played a major role in the offense with three assists on key scoring plays. Reinhardt's scoring depth showed throughout the game, with Cisco, Garrison and others helping build the margin after the Eagles fell behind in the opening minutes.

In goal, Scoleri played all 60 minutes and made six saves while allowing two goals. Reinhardt also managed the game well despite a near-even faceoff battle, finishing with seven faceoff wins to Webber's eight, and forced the hosts into 25 turnovers. The Eagles were successful on 23 of 25 clear attempts and took advantage of a man-up chance in the fourth quarter, turning a strong first-half surge into a comfortable road win.

The Eagles will have one day of rest before they face #2 ranked Keiser Seahawks on stop #2 of the Florida road trip.  This will be a game that all of the NAIA will be watching to see how the two top-five teams face off against each other.  In addition, Reinhardt, Keiser, Webber, and the other teams of the AAC will face each other once again at the AAC Tournament, which takes place over two weekends in late April and early May. The first round games on April 25th will be at the higher seed's home fields.  Then the semifinals and finals will take place at Life University in Marietta, Georgia on May 1st-2nd.

Below is the current NAIA Top 10, which was released on April 8th

TREND	RANK	LAST TIME		INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]	RECORD	POINTS
●	1	1		Madonna (Mich.) [6]	11-1	60
●	2	2		Keiser (Fla.)	7-0	56
●	3	3		Aquinas (Mich.)	10-1	51
▲	4	6		SCAD Savannah (Ga.)	11-2	47
▼	5	4		Reinhardt (Ga.)	5-1	43
▼	6	5		William Penn (Iowa)	8-1	40
▲	7	8		Cumberlands (Ky.)	6-5	36
▼	8	7		Indiana Tech	6-5	30
▲	9	RV		Benedictine (Kan.)	8-0	26
▼	10	T-9		Webber International (Fla.)	8-4	24
Dropped from Top 25: Taylor (Ind.)
Receiving Votes: Taylor (Ind.) 20; Columbia (Mo.) 16; Tennessee Wesleyan 16; Life (Ga.) 6; Michigan-Dearborn 4; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 2