Reinhardt Remains in Top Spot, Battles Back to Defeat No. 2 Indiana Tech on the Road

By Brandon Wright, RU Athletics

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 1-ranked Reinhardt Eagles not only faced a tough opponent in a 2^nd-ranked Indiana Tech squad on the road, but they also had to battle against the elements to secure an 11-10 comeback victory on Wednesday afternoon.

After finding themselves down, 8-4, early in the second half, Reinhardt posted a furious second-half comeback. Even the 40 mile-per-hour wind gusts in Fort Wayne could not stop the Eagles from achieving a perfect 5-0 record and retaining their top spot nationally.

"What a huge win for my guys," head coach John Snow said. "The last game against Madonna was a "gut-check" game... This game was a pure "heart-check" game. We scored a quick goal early and then I felt like we were on our heels for the next 28 minutes. We had a difficult time early on with Indiana Tech's "riding game" and their pressure defense. We regrouped at halftime, shook off an early third-quarter goal by Indiana Tech and dominated the rest of the quarter. The fourth quarter was intense, lot of back and forth, so I am proud of how my guys dug down deep and finished the game.

"Three games in four days against three quality opponents was a huge challenge, and my guys found a way to get it done; they showed a lot of heart!"

Reinhardt – who stayed atop the NAIA rankings in the newest poll released earlier Wednesday (NAIA Top 10 Poll) – could not have started the match off more beautifully as reigning Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Offensive Player of the Week Zane Anderson found Dillan Bousquet for a goal with just over one minute off the clock in the first period giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

The next eight minutes remained scoreless until the Warriors netted a goal of their own, evening the score at 1-1. Less than two minutes later, Indiana Tech posted another goal giving it the 2-1 advantage, but JR Sess then won the ensuing faceoff and immediately scored to tie the game back up at 2-2.

Another Indiana Tech goal closed out the first period with the Warriors on top, 3-2.

Tyler Chavous netted two shots for Reinhardt in the second period, but unfortunately, the Warriors had another strong stretch and tallied four goals of their own to take the 7-4 halftime lead.

Just as Reinhardt had done earlier in the game, Indiana Tech won the faceoff and immediately scored a goal to start the third period, giving the Warriors an 8-4 lead – their largest of the day – just moments into the second half.

However, the Eagles then mounted a furious comeback and scored five unanswered goals to close out the third period with a 9-8 advantage as Gavin Banks was responsible for three of the scores, and Chavous and Bousquet also added to their daily total with one apiece.

In the opening minute of the fourth period, the Warriors evened the score at 9-9 and set the stage for a go-ahead goal to be added. Roughly five minutes later, Kyle Banks answered the call for the Eagles and gave them the go-ahead tally with 9:44 remaining in the game.

However, Reinhardt would not hold the lead for long as the hard-nosed Warriors scored again to even the scoreboard at 10 apiece with 7:09 to go.

With roughly three minutes to go in the game, Reinhardt forced an Indiana Tech turnover and Connor Mills took advantage by scoring his first goal of the day and giving the Eagles the 11-10 lead as time began to dwindle.

The game literally came down to the last second as the Warriors got a shot off with one second remaining, but it sailed wide of the net and was secured by the current AAC Defensive Player of the Week Matt Webb – who had 11 saves – giving him 40 on the year and finalizing the comeback victory for the three-time defending national champions.

Six different Eagles had goals on the day while Chavous (3), Gavin Banks (3) and Bousquet (2) all had multiple scores. Reinhardt now has 77 goals on the year – good enough for 15 scores a game.

The Eagles won 15-of-23 faceoffs on the day while scooping up 39 ground balls.

The team now returns home from its three-consecutive games on the road on March 13, where it will take on Webber International (Fla.) at Ken White Field at University Stadium in the AAC opener at 5:30 p.m.

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