MILWAUKEE – The MSOE lacrosse team clinched its first-ever conference tournament berth with a 9-5 victory over Benedictine Wednesday night at Viets Field.

The Raiders (8-7, 5-3 MLC) never trailed in defeating the Eagles (5-11, 3-4 MLC) for the first time and tying a school record with their eighth win of the season.

MSOE will be the No. 4 seed in next week's MLC Tournament, taking on the yet-to-be determined No. 1 seed Wednesday, May 3 on the road.

Seven different players scored for the Red & White, with sophomore Jack Fisher netting two goals and two assists on the night. Juniors Clay Gustafson had a goal and two assists while juniors Oliver Kennedy, Oliver Winsor, and Thomas Reid had a goal and an assist each.

Freshmen Harrison Davies, Collin Fischer, and John Wilson also scored goals.

The Raiders and Eagles traded goals to open the scoring, then Kennedy countered BenU's equalizer just 39 seconds later to make it 2-1 and send the Red & White on its way. Gustafson and Winsor added goals to make it 4-1 one quarter.

Benedictine would score the game's only goal in the second quarter to pull within 4-2 at halftime.

Three-straight goals in a span of 2:04 in the third period proved to be too much for the visitors to overcome. Fisher scored at 9:08, then Wilson and Davies followed suit just 54 seconds apart to open a 7-2 advantage.

The teams then traded goals throughout regulation.

Junior Pat Collins made eight saves in goal for the victory. Sammie Sanko made seven stops.

MSOE played a strong game all-around, holding a 32-28 shot advantage and 25-20 edge in ground balls. The Raiders were also a perfect 13-for-13 in clear attempts and committed just seven turnovers.

The Red & White has one more match before the league tournament, playing an out-of-conference contest with Carthage Saturday in Kenosha.