Fast Start Fades in WHAC Quarterfinal Loss at No. 7 Concordia

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The RV Taylor men's lacrosse team put third-seeded and No. 7 Concordia on the ropes early into Tuesday's WHAC Tournament Quarterfinals but could not hold off the Cardinals in an eventual 15-9 defeat.

Competing in the WHAC Tournament for the second time in program history, Taylor led throughout much of the first half against the favored Concordia (9-5) squad. Jackson Dale got things started by assisting Will Saxby for a 1-0 lead at the 12:09 mark and then scored an unassisted goal of his own for a 2-0 lead with 9:53 to go in the first. Henry Cooper then assisted a score before adding his own goal, as Taylor held a 4-2 edge after the opening 15 minutes of action.

The Taylor lead moved to 5-2 40 seconds into the second period when Saxby found Kaden Mast but the hosts unleashed a flurry of eight goals over the final 13 minutes of the half the turn the game around.

Back-to-back goals from Jude Wood midway through the period snapped CU's stretch of four-straight goals and gave Taylor a 7-6 lead, but the hosts put together another four-goal spurt to take a 10-7 lead to the half.

Concordia stayed hot in the third, pushing the margin to 13-7 before goals from Wood and Cooper ended the 11-2 CU rally and trimmed Taylor's deficit to 13-9 with 10:31 remaining in the contest.

That would be Taylor's final push of the evening however, as CU got a pair of insurance tallies and held the Trojans scoreless the rest of the way.

Wood led Taylor with four goals, while Cooper scored twice and added three assists. Lucas Pacer posted five ground balls and David Celesti had eight ground balls and 17 faceoff wins in 28 attempts.

The WHAC Tournament Quarterfinal loss brings an end to Taylor's best season in program history. The RV Trojans finished at 7-8 overall, winning the most matches in program history and qualifying for postseason play for just the second time.