Eagles Sprint Past Tennessee Wesleyan; AAC Semis Next Stop

Waleska, GA -  Reinhardt men's Lacrosse broke open a tight game with a dominant second half Saturday, turning a 4-4 first-quarter tie into an 18-5 lacrosse victory over Tennessee Wesleyan at Ken White Field in Waleska, Georgia. The decisive stretch came after the Eagles regained the lead late in the second quarter, then shut out Tennessee Wesleyan 6-0 in the third to take full control.

The opening quarter moved quickly and stayed even. Reid McDowell scored the first goal at the 13:48 mark off an assist from Holden Whitecliffe, and Marshall Cisco followed 12 seconds later to put Reinhardt ahead 2-0. Tennessee Wesleyan answered and eventually pulled even at 4-4 on Madden Leslie's extra-man goal with 1:24 left in the first quarter. The visitors briefly moved in front early in the second when Micah Decloedt scored at 12:31 for a 5-4 lead, but Reinhardt responded almost immediately. Nolan Marsh tied it 18 seconds later on a feed from Chase Bond, and Whitecliffe scored at 11:56 to put the Eagles back in front for good.

From there, Reinhardt steadily widened the margin. Luke Greer scored at 10:45 of the second quarter off a Joey Amatulli assist, Amatulli added a goal of his own at 4:01, and Carter Garrison made it 9-5 with 3:20 left before halftime. The Eagles then delivered the game-changing run after the break. McDowell scored twice in the first 1:36 of the third quarter, both times set up by Amatulli, pushing the lead to 11-5. Rett Canon, Amatulli and Marsh added goals later in the quarter as Reinhardt held Tennessee Wesleyan scoreless and carried a 15-5 advantage into the fourth.

Reinhardt's statistical edge matched the scoreboard. The Eagles outshot Tennessee Wesleyan 56-26, including a 34-9 edge in shots on goal, won the faceoff battle 19-5 and collected 35 ground balls to the Bulldogs' 13. Reinhardt also committed just eight turnovers, compared with 17 for Tennessee Wesleyan, and completed 21 clears. That possession advantage kept pressure on Tennessee Wesleyan goalkeeper Jack Shaw, who finished with 16 saves while facing 56 shots.

Amatulli led the Eagles' offense with two goals and four assists for six points, while McDowell scored four goals and added an assist. Canon finished with three goals, Whitecliffe had a goal and two assists, and Greer contributed a goal and an assist in the final quarter. In goal, Ethan Rogers played all 60 minutes for Reinhardt, making four saves and allowing five goals. The Eagles closed the scoring in the fourth quarter on goals from Canon, Greer, and Canon again, with Canon's finish at 9:11 off a Greer assist setting the final margin at 18-5.

The Eagles will enjoy the quarterfinal win as they move into next week and start preparing for the AAC semifinal matchup with SCAD Bees.  The game will be on Friday, May 1st, at 3 pm at the host school, Life University. A win at the semis moves the team into the championship game on Saturday. These are very important games for Reinhardt as they try to improve their standing ahead of the NAIA National tournament.