DUBUQUE, Iowa - The #2 seeded University of Dubuque men's lacrosse team advanced to their third consecutive Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) Tournament Championship Game after defeating the #3 seeded University of Northwestern (MN) Eagles on Wednesday afternoon 13-4 at Oyen Field. 

After an opening goal by the Eagles less than a minute into the game, it was all Spartans after that. The Spartans scored 11 unanswered goals, including five in the second quarter while shutting out the Eagles in the quarter. The Spartans were led by Giovanni SIlva with four goals while Aidan Culligan and Sam Todd provided three points each. Kyle Hephner played his final game at Oyen Field and finished with a team-high two assists.

As the primary faceoff specialist, John Lewis went 8-17 on the afternoon. Goalie, Nolan Nagy picked up his 10th win of the season finishing the day with 10 saves. 

The #2 seed Spartans will travel to #1 Lake Forest College on Saturday for the MLC Tournament Championship game at 2:00 p.m. The last two MLC Championship games have featured both the Spartans and Foresters with the Spartans winning the title back in 2022 and most recently, the Foresters winning it last season. Both matchups went down to the mere final seconds of the game and will expect the same come Saturday. 

The Spartans lost at Lake Forest about a week and a half ago by a final score fo 10-8.

The winner of the MLC Championship game will advance to the 2024 Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships as the automatic qualifier out of the MLC.