Keiser pulls away from Reinhardt for second straight AAC tournament title
| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REI | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| KEI | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
Keiser claimed its second consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference men’s lacrosse tournament championship on Saturday, beating Reinhardt (Ga.) 17-10 at Lupo Family Field in Marietta, Ga. The top-seeded Seahawks led 9-5 at halftime, added five more goals in the third quarter, and secured the program’s third overall tournament title in the 2026 championship game against the No. 3 seed.
Keiser set the tone early when JP Prather opened the scoring at 11:05 of the first quarter off an assist from Kegan Hufford. Reinhardt answered during a competitive opening stretch, and Luke Greer tied the game 3-3 with 4:52 left in the quarter on a feed from Alex Mabrey. The game tightened again in the second quarter when Nolan Marsh scored at 9:34 to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Keiser regained control before the break. Kyle Davis scored with 29 seconds left in the half, finishing a setup from Ryan Rundle to send Keiser into intermission with a 9-5 advantage.
The decisive stretch came in the third quarter. Keiser extended the margin to 13-5 when Hufford scored at 10:34 off an assist from Davis, part of a five-goal quarter that gave Reinhardt too much ground to make up. Keiser finished with 17 goals on 39 shots, including 26 shots on goal, and converted one of its two extra-man opportunities. Hufford led all scorers with four goals and one assist, while Rundle added three goals and two assists. Davis contributed two goals and four assists in the championship win.
Reinhardt continued to push in the second half behind Benjamin Shackelford and Greer, who each scored three goals. Greer scored with 20 seconds left in the third quarter off an assist from Carter Garrison to trim the score to 14-7, and Shackelford opened the fourth-quarter scoring at 13:52 to make it 14-8. Shackelford added a late goal with 43 seconds remaining, assisted by Joey Amatulli, to close the scoring. Reinhardt finished with 42 shots, 24 on goal, won the faceoff battle 16-14, and held a slight edge in ground balls, 33-32.
Even with Reinhardt generating volume, Keiser’s defense and goalkeeper held up over four quarters. Keiser recorded 14 saves, compared with nine for Reinhardt, and Reinhardt went 0-for-3 on extra-man chances. Zach Crotwell’s goal with 5:31 left in the fourth quarter, assisted by Maximus Pareto, pushed the lead to 17-9 and removed any remaining suspense. Officiated by Davis Barlow at the neutral-site championship, the result gave Keiser back-to-back AAC tournament crowns and another conference postseason title at Reinhardt’s expense.
