ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's lacrosse team hosted the Northland College Lumberjacks for a non-conference contest on Wednesday at Reynolds Field. The Eagles fell behind early but stormed back late with five unanswered goals to rally and close out a 9-6 win over the Lumberjacks.
Northland got on the board first with a goal midway through the opening quarter. The Eagles responded with back-to-back goals to take the lead.
Sam Moses (Wasau, Wis./Wasau East) evened the game at 1-1 with a
Brenden Schuffenhauer (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) assisted goal.
Thomas Alderson (Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead) followed with a goal to go up 2-1, assisted by
Sam Moses (Wasau, Wis./Wasau East).
The Lumberjacks then caught fire, scoring four consecutive to take a 5-2 lead into halftime.
Down by three entering the second half, the Eagles responded with two quick goals within the first three minutes of the third quarter.
Isaac Geurink (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) scored in an unassisted effort to make it 5-3.
Joseph Will (Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake) followed with another UNW goal less than a minute later to cut the score to 5-4, assisted by Alderson.
Now only up by one goal, Northland managed to add one more to go up 6-4. Trailing by two, the Eagles stormed back to take over the game.
Alderson scored his second of the night with 3:30 remaining in the third. The junior then completed a hat trick in the opening minute of the fourth and final quarter to even things up at 6-6. Geurink scored the game-winner with an unassisted effort 53 seconds after Alderson tied it up. Will added two more insurance goals in the fourth to complete a hat trick. The flurry of Eagle goals proved too much to overcome as UNW ultimately triumphed 9-6 over the visiting Lumberjacks.
Will and Alderson's hat tricks led Northwestern's scoring stats. Moses ended with two assists for the team-high.
Defensivley,
Robert McHenry (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) had six saves in goal for UNW.
Jakob Montessi (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) absolutely dominated the defensive side of the field for the Eagles as the sophomore forced six caused turnovers and recovered eight ground balls for UNW.
Next up for Northwestern is a trip over the state lines to take on Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. The opening faceoff of the Eagles vs. Eagles matchup is scheduled for 2:00 P.M. on this Saturday, March 19.
