INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men's lacrosse team (9-5) won the inaugural GLVC Championship Tournament final on Sunday afternoon, defeating regular-season champions Young Harris College (13-4) at Key Stadium, 12-8.
 
UIndy served as the neutral site for the first postseason tournament in conference history, as it was also the first season in which the GLVC sponsored the sport of men's lacrosse. The Mountain Lions went a perfect 5-0 in the regular season, which included an 11-7 win over the Greyhounds in Young Harris, Ga. back on March 17.
 
At the final buzzer, the Hounds tied the UIndy record – which it shared with Lewis University – with seven GLVC championships in an academic year. Moments later, the UIndy women's golf team won its seventh-straight conference title, giving the athletics department a staggering eight league trophies still with four champions to be crowned this spring.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It appeared as if the title game was going to be a defensive battle, as it took nearly five-and-a-half minutes before Young Harris opened up the scoring with goal from second-team all-GLVC Garrett Blake Jr. at 9:33.
 
The Greyhounds struck thereafter, scoring three unanswered in a span of 1:27 with goals from all-conference players Matt Schoeneck, Sam Horning, and Max Groves. The Mountain Lions responded with three of their own to end the first quarter with a 4-3 lead.
 
Nathaniel Webber scored his first goal of the season midway through the second quarter to knot the game at five apiece, which looked like it would be the halftime score. That was until YHC's Bruce Silk sniped a shot just ahead of the buzzer to give the top-seed Mountain Lions a one-goal advantage at the break.
 
In what was a back-and-forth contest in the first half, the script was flipped in the final 30 minutes as UIndy dominated to win the conference title.
 
The Hounds outscored the Mountain Lions 5-1 in the third quarter, with Scott LaPoe netting two goals in that span. Matthew Johnson matched the Mountain Lions buzzer beater with one of his own as the clock read all zeroes at the end of the third to give the Hounds a 10-7 lead and a huge momentum boost.
 
The fourth quarter only saw three goals between the teams, with the Greyhounds scoring twice. Parker Johnson and Sam Horning each scored their second of the contest in the frame to put the exclamation point on the postseason title win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Dominic Guarino stepped up in the final, winning 11-of-18 faceoffs against GLVC Specialty Player of the Year Zach Stephenson, who secured over 71 percent of his attempts this season. Guarino also scooped up six ground balls in the game.
 
Horning's two goals is the sixth time this season the senior has recorded a multi-score game, while it was the third instance this spring that Johnson has done so. Lapoe's multi-goal effort is the first time this season and second game in his career.
 
Matthew Johnson recorded two assists in the win, including the final goal of the game for the Greyhounds. It is the 11th time in his career the junior has had multiple helpers in a game, and the first time this season.

Keeper Austin Barnett made seven saves in the win to give him 14 for the GLVC Championship Tournament, good for a save percentage of 50 percent over the two games.
 
The win marks the ninth victory for the Hounds this season, surpassing its inaugural-season total of eight in 2016. UIndy has a chance to reach double digits next Saturday when it travels to No. 19 Limestone for the regular-season finale.

UP NEXT
The Hounds wrap up the regular season next weekend in Gaffney, S.C. at No. 19 Limestone. The game is scheduled for 12 p.m. as UIndy looks for double-figure wins for the first time in program history.