via press release – photo via Keiser web site  

Author’s Note:  What an achievement for Coach Johnston and his team!  Good luck in the championship game!

  GAME INFORMATION Score: No. 4 Keiser 14, No. 1 Missouri Valley 12 Records: No. 4 Keiser (10-1), No. 1 Missouri Valley (14-2) Location: Sirrine Stadium, Greenville, SC Attendance: 75 Weather: 58, cloudy with rain in the area KU HIGHLIGHTS

• The Seahawks will play for an NAIA National Championship tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. against No. 2 Reinhardt University after knocking off the top team in the country this afternoon.
• Justin Flint scored a game-high six goals and Craig Marentette finished with a hat trick.
• Jacob Bomberry had three assists and Lucas Muzzey had two.
• Jake Padden made 15 saves in goal for the Seahawks.

TURNING POINT The turning point came with the Seahawks scoring the first three goals of the third quarter to extend their lead to 10-6. HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Seahawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute on an unassisted goal by Eddie Grieco.
• Missouri Valley tied it with 3:34 left in the first quarter when Tyler Wilkinson found the back of the net. Just 34 seconds later, the Vikings took their first lead on an Owen Sorobey goal.
• However, Keiser tied it just as time expired on a Flint goal off an assist by Lucas Muzzey.
• Keiser reclaimed a 3-2 advantage on Flint’s second goal of the contest, coming just four minutes into the second quarter.
• A Marentette man-up goal off a feed by Muzzey, raised the margin to 4-2, but the Vikings got a goal back just 15 seconds later, to get within 4-3.
• Flint put Keiser back ahead 5-3 with 8:54 remaining in the second on an unassisted goal. However, Missouri Valley trimmed the deficit to one with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
• Marentette registered his second goal of the game off an assist by Nolan Duncan to lead 6-4, but MVU scored 11 seconds later, making it 6-5.
• With 2:14 showing, Grieco laced a shot past the keeper, raising the advantage to 7-5, but the Vikings scored with 1:16 to go and went into the half trailing Keiser, 7-6.
• The Seahawks scored the first three goals of the third quarter to extend their lead to 10-6 with goals by Flint, Bomberry, and Muzzey.
• Missouri Valley broke the run with a goal in the 12^th minute and again with 26 seconds left to trail 10-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
• A man-up goal by Marentette just two minutes into the final quarter pushed the lead to 11-8 but the Vikings notched a goal one minute later.
• Following the goal by the Vikings, Duncan and Flint found the back of the net to lead 13-9 with 6:53 to go in regulation.
• The Vikings answered with two straight goals to get within 13-11, when Flint scored his sixth goal of the game with 3:12 remaining, making it 14-11.
• Missouri Valley scored with 40 seconds left but that wasn’t enough as the Seahawks won 14-12 and advances to the NAIA National Championship game.

COACH’S CORNER Head Coach Patrick Johnston said, “They’re a great team and opponent, and it was a great showcase of NAIA lacrosse. We definitely did not hit our objectives statistically but we battled adversity all year and today was no different. When you get to this time of year, rankings and stats don’t win—players win games and our players made plays when they needed to.” TEAM LEADERS Keiser Points: Flint (6) Goals: Flint (6) Assists: Bomberry (3) Faceoff: Ehlebracht (3-19) Ground Balls: Padden (6) Saves: Padden (15) Missouri Valley Points: Barnes (7) Goals: Barnes (6) Assists: Wilkinson/Gallagher (2) Faceoff: Berg (25-28) Ground Balls: Block (14) Saves: Degross (3) UP NEXT The Seahawks will rematch against No. 2 Reinhardt tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for the NAIA National Championship.