Pensacola, FL - Eagles Men's Lacrosse left for Florida earlier this week with a mission to win the NAIA National Championship.  After three games of dominating lacrosse against the nation's best NAIA teams, the Reinhardt Eagles accomplished their goal. This is the Men's Lacrosse Program's fifth national title in a row, however, it was a first for new coach, Tyler Yelkin, and several newcomers to the team. The team was mixed with experienced veterans along with young, talented younger players which proved to be too much for first-round opponent - Keiser, semifinal opponent - Aquinas (Mich), and Championship Game opponent - Indiana Tech. The Eagles won their first two games by 10 goals and they won the final with a score of 11-5. A combination of tough, hardnosed defense to go along with a fast-attacking offense took this tournament to another level which opponents can only watch with amazement.

Team leader and tournament MVP, Dillan Bousquet was the force that moved the team the entire season, however, the team is full of players that can defend, score goals, move the ball around, and crush teams that they face.

Liam Wright, Matt Potvin, Jack Hollis, Fisher Nuss, and others anchor the defense which held the best lacrosse programs in the NAIA to single-digit scoring in all tournament games.

The scoring threat of Bousquet, Titus Thind, Cameron Cochran, Tyler Wilkinson, Brady Hanak, and many more put the games out of reach against their opponents. Sometimes it takes a little while to get the game going, but once it does - the team can rattle off points in bunches. JR Sess can take a face-off and go down in score in seconds and this can be devastating to the other teams.

The Eagles had five members on the All-Tournament Team and the Tournament MVP. Dillan Bousquet was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament Award. He was joined by Titus Thind, Liam Wright, JR Sess, Jacob Pinson, and Matt Potvin as members of the All-Tournament Team!

Coach Yelkin had this to say about his team's performance this season and throughout the tournament, "So proud of this team and everything that we have accomplished this year. They had every excuse in the book to roll over and be mediocre but they bought in and fought every day. I'm so thankful for our seniors, our administration, and the RU family for all the support this year."

The Eagles once again brought home the famous NAIA red banner and National Championship trophy to the campus of Reinhardt University. The Eagle Nation is proud of this program and all of its accomplishments this season and all the previous seasons. The Eagles Lacrosse Program has established a solid foundation that should continue to produce strong teams going forward. This is something that these young men can carry with them throughout the rest of their lives.

Below is the National Championship game release from the NAIA which also has the list of the All-Tournament Team Members:

Recap of the 2022 NAIA Men's Lacrosse Invitational Final

PENSACOLA, Fla. – [RESULTS | BRACKET] No. 2 Reinhardt (Ga.) never trailed in the game as it defeated No. 1 Indiana Tech 11-5 to capture its fifth straight NAIA Invitational championship Saturday afternoon at Ashton Brosnaham Park. The Eagles finish the season with a 13-1 record, while the Warriors close out the season with an 18-1 mark.

Dillan Bousquet netted a hattrick and scooped eight ground balls to help him earn NAIA Tournament MVP honors.  Titus Thind added a hattrick, while Brady Hanak tallied two goals and a pair of assists.  Goalie Liam Wright made 11 saves in the game as JR Sess went 17-19 on faceoffs with four ground balls.  Matt Potvin notched three caused turnovers and three ground balls in the game.

Leading the way for Indiana Tech were Nate Langille, Louis Czech, and Joe Solin who tallied a goal and an assist each.  Kyle TwoBulls made nine saves in the first half to go along with three ground balls, while Chad Nedbal made seven stops in the second half.  Blaine Flanigan and Jack Marquardt tallied a pair of caused turnovers each.

Reinhardt won the opening faceoff and on that possession, Cameron Cochran connected with Titus Thind for a goal just under a minute into the first quarter.  The Eagles looked to add to their lead, however, Indiana Tech's Kyle TwoBull made three saves and scooped a pair of ground balls to keep the score 1-0 five minutes into the game.  Cochran added an unassisted goal to extend Reinhardt's lead to 2-0.  Indiana Tech got on the board two minutes later as Nate Langille found Joe Solin for a goal to make it 2-1 with 7:33 remaining.  Reinhardt added two more goals before the Warriors connected with the back of the cage in the closing seconds of the quarter to make it 4-2 in favor of Reinhardt.

Indiana Tech came out strong in the second quarter as Langille put a well-placed shot into the upper corner of the cage just over five minutes into the period.  JR Sess won the faceoff and led a transition that resulted in Thind's second goal for the Eagles extending their lead to 5-3 with 9:23 left.  Indiana Tech netted consecutive goals, including a man-up goal to even the score at 5-5 with 1:13 remaining in the second quarter.  The Eagles responded as Cochran found Dillan Bousquet for the go-ahead goal with 43 seconds left in the half to give Reinhardt a 6-5 edge.

Reinhardt's Tanner Whittemore forced a turnover five minutes into the third period and on the ensuing possession, Kollin Etheridge found Bousquet for a transition goal making it 7-5.  Thind completed the hattrick at the 5:30 mark in the third quarter making it 8-5 in favor of the Eagles heading into the fourth quarter.

The two teams continued to battle in the fourth quarter before Brady Hanak found Bousquet for a goal giving Reinhardt a 9-5 edge with 9:46 remaining.  The Eagles added two more goals in the period, while Liam Wright made five stops in the second half for the 11-5 final.

Tournament MVP - Dillan Bousquet, Reinhardt (Ga.)

All-Tournament Team

Andrew Ryan, Indian Tech

Thomas Fogarty, Cumberlands (Ky.)

Samuel Bodley, Indiana Tech

Blake Baker, Aquinas (Mich.)

JR Sess, Reinhardt (Ga.)

Jacob Pinson, Reinhardt (Ga.)

Tom Piotrowski, Indiana Tech

Jake Morgan, Cumberlands (Ky.)

Matt Potvin, Reinhardt (Ga.)

Wes Christian, Tennessee Wesleyan

Liam Wright, Reinhardt (Ga.)

Titus Thind, Reinhardt (Ga.)