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BOX SCORE

Keiser Pushes Past Webber International to Advance to NAIA National Championship

No. 1 Keiser Seahawks 15, No. 5 Webber International Warriors 10
Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park (Pensacola, Fla.)
Keiser (16-1) | Webber International (16-4)

The No. 1-ranked Keiser men’s lacrosse team defeated the No. 5-ranked Webber International Warriors in the semifinals of the NAIA Men’s Lacrosse Invitational this afternoon.

The Seahawks were led by Jack Gillen, who registered his eighth hat trick of the season, scoring three goals versus the Warriors. The team’s leading scorer increased his season point total to 55. Also scoring multiple goals for the Seahawks on Thursday were Vincent Cerasuolo (2), Josten Ucros (2), and AJ Badik (2). Goalkeeper Christian Tomei registered 12 saves for his 16^th win of the season. 

With the win, Keiser improves to 5-5 all-time in the NAIA Men’s Lacrosse Invitational. The Seahawks also move to 2-1 all-time in the tournament’s semifinals and will be making the program’s second appearance in the title game.

Keiser 4, Webber International 2

• Keiser was hot out of the gate and Jack Gillen scored the first goal of the day with an AJ Badik assist with 13:47 showing on the board.
• Webber tied the game 90 seconds later with a goal from Christian Tapia. 
• Michael Shephard scored his first goal of the tournament with 7:45 on the clock with a Jack Gillen assist. 
• The Warriors tied it up with a goal one minute later. 
• Thirty seconds after that, AJ Badik scored unassisted and gave the Seahawks a lead they would hold for the remainder of the game. 
• Badik provided an assist for Josten Ucros for the final goal of the quarter. 

Keiser 10, Webber International 5

• Vincent Cerasuolo scored to kick off a Keiser scoring flurry with 12:22 left in the half. 
• Less than 20 seconds later, Cole Stassi scored with a Jack Gillen assist. 
• In a two minute span, Ashton Harris and Jack Gillen scored unassisted to give Keiser six consecutive goals.
• WIU finally broke the Keiser scoring run with two goals on man-up chances. 
• Braeden Niemy got his first goal of the day with 1:12 on clock, courtesy of a Cerasuolo assist. 
• Webber seemingly scored the final goal of the half with 13 seconds on the clock but Jack Gillen and Michael Shephard were able to hook up on a goal that gave Keiser a five goal lead at the half. 

Keiser 11, Webber International 7

•  Ryan Rundle put the first goal of the second half in the net with 13:22 on the clock. Jack Gillen assisted on the play. 
• With 6:41 on the clock, an empty net chance for Webber was denied when Christian Tomei raced back to the net and kept the ball out of the cage while falling backwards.
• After nine scoreless minutes, Webber found the net. 
• The Warriors scored the final goal of the quarter with 10 seconds on the clock. 

Keiser 15, Webber International 10

• Webber struck first in the fourth quarter with a goal.
• Keiser answered 50 seconds later with Cerasuolo’s second goal of the day, helped by a Badik assist. 
• Badik would score his second goal of the game two minutes later unassisted. 
• Webber cut the KU lead down to four with 5:53 on the clock. 
• Josten Ucros converted a man-up opportunity with 2:59 on the board with a Cole Stassi assist. 
• WIU scored their final goal with 1:39 remaining. 
• Marek Albeiro tapped in a goal as time expired. 

• Keiser outshot the Warriors 39-31. 
• Cam Provines went 16-26 on faceoffs.
• Cole Stassi scored his 100th career assist in the second quarter. 
• Jack Gillen recorded his eighth hat trick of the season. 
• Gillen finished the day with six points. 
• The Keiser defense forced 10 Warrior turnovers. 

No. 1 Keiser
Goals: Gillen (3)
Points: Gillen (6)
Assists: Three Players (3)
Faceoffs: Provines (16-26)
Ground Balls: Provines (6)
Caused Turnovers: Jackson Marshall (2)
Saves: Tomei (12)

No. 5 Webber International
Goals: Sheaffer (3)
Points: Sheaffer / Jackson (4)
Assists: Jackson (3)
Faceoffs: Scott (10-26)
Ground Balls: Fasano (4)
Caused Turnovers: Schepers (3)
Saves: Cordero (8)

Keiser will play in the NAIA national championship game this Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. 

For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Keiser Men’s Lacrosse on Twitter and Instagram.

General athletic news can be found at KUSeahawks on Facebook, kuseahawks on Instagram, and kuseahawks on Twitter.  

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Men’s Lacrosse Falls to No. 1 Seahawks in Semifinal

PENSACOLA, Fla. (May 12, 2023) – The Webber International University men’s lacrosse team advanced to the semifinal of the NAIA National Invitational where it would face No. 1 Keiser University for the third time this season. A steady attack from the Seahawks was too much for the Warriors to overcome in a 15-10 defeat.

Despite forcing the Seahawks (15-1 overall) into 22 total turnovers, the Warriors (16-4) were outnumbered in both shots (39-31) and face-offs (16-10).

The two teams traded blows for the majority of the first quarter as it was tied 2-2 with 6:30 on the clock. Christian Tapia netted the first goal for the Warriors followed by Nick Sheaffer. The Seahawks scored twice more to end the period, however, earning a 4-2 lead entering the second quarter. Webber was outscored in the second quarter as well, 6-3. Keiser continued its scoring run, netting the first four goals to extend its lead to 8-2. Back-to-back man-up goals by Cade McCarron and Jeremiah Loo cut the deficit to four once again. Houston Finlayson found the back of the cage later in the quarter with 13 seconds left but Keiser responded by scoring a last-second goal to end the half.

The Seahawks opened the scoring in the second half to make it 11-5. Blake Nelson recorded his first goal of the game later in the period followed by another goal from Sheaffer with 10 seconds remaining. Sheaffer netted his hat-trick to begin the final quarter of play to pull the Warriors back within three at 11-8. Keiser scored twice in a row to extend its lead yet again and despite two more goals from Dillon Ziemba and Chase Jackson, the lead was too great to overcome.

Jackson led the Warriors in points alongside Sheaffer, each with four. Jackson scored one goal and assisted on three others while Sheaffer scored three and assisted one. They were followed by Loo and Tapia who both added a goal and an assist each. Dane Fasano and Hunter Scott both ended with a team-high in ground balls with four followed by Sheaffer with three. Defensively, Austin Schepers totaled three caused turnovers while Fasano added two.

The Warriors end the 2023 season with an overall record of 16-4, setting a program-best in total wins (16) and reaching their first NAIA National Invitational appearance.