CHICAGO, Ill. – In the 2022 Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC) Colorado College was victorious, claiming their first league title, defeating Southwestern University on Sunday, 17-12.
2022 HCLC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Page
CC jumped out to an early lead, scoring three straight to open the first frame.
Charlie Rainer netted a
Mckay Hansen set up, followed by two unassisted goals from
Anders Erickson and
Declan MaGuire for the 3-0 lead. The Pirates fought to get on the board with
Cody Foster finding the back of the cage off a
Matt Minnick pass to pull within two.
The Tigers went on a three goal streak again to cushion their lead, this time with the same trio connecting for scores. Southwestern would have the final say of the first period when
Nick Doxey snuck a goal past the CC net minder for a 6-2 score at the end of the frame.
Southwestern came out firing in the second period, with a pair of goals from
Foster and
Tyler Santos, both on man-up opportunities to pull within two at 6-4. But CC worked for the answer, posting a pair of their own goals with one from
Hansen and
Dylan Brown to double up the Pirates at 8-4. The two teams traded another pair of goals as the Tigers would take a 10-6 advantage into the half.
The second half provided much more scoring from both squads, as CC opened the half with a pair of goals from the usual suspects. Southwestern added a trio of scores but were outpaced in the frame by a tally of 5-3.
In the final period the Pirates outscored the Tigers 3-2 behind goals from
Matt Caldwell, Tyler Johnson and
Matthew Sganga, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers held on for the 17-12 win, and the HCLC Title.
Colorado College earns the HCLC’s automatic qualifying bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III National Tournament and will await the NCAA’s announcement of its first round matchup.
For more information on HCLC men’s lacrosse, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.