ST. PAUL, Minn.- After a nice break due to weather, the University of Northwestern Men's Lacrosse team returned to the field as they hosted the Cornell College Rams. It came down to the last few minutes of regulation as the Rams found a last minute goal to outlast the Eagles 8-7.
It was a dominant first quarter for the Rams. The Eagles were able to produce seven shots, however none of them hit the back of the net as Cornell led Northwestern 3-0 at the end of the first
Much like the first, CC kept the scoring going as they added two more goals to their tally to extend their lead to five. However, when it seemed like UNW could not get it going,
Thomas Alderson (Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead) broke the scoreless streak thanks to a
Sam Moses (Wasau, Wis./Wasau East) assist. The scoring would subside for a little before Moses found his own scoring opportunity and nailed it. With momentum now on their side, the Eagles continued to add pressure on the Rams as
Isaac Geurink (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) added another goal for Northwestern with 02:21 left in the second quarter. The first half came to a close as the once five point deficit was now only two, 5-3. UNW had six shots in the second quarter but they made sure to make them count as they connected on three of them.
The third quarter started like the first two quarters with Cornell finding the first goal, this one 15 seconds into the second half. Neither team would find the back of the net for a while before Alderson found the spark for Northwestern once again as he put away his second goal of the contest. The Rams held onto a 6-4 lead entering the final 15 minutes of the game.
It would be UNW this time around to find the first goal of the quarter as Moses found his second goal of the game off of a pass from Geurink. A little more than two minutes later Alderson would not only find a tying goal at 6-6, but he would also complete a hat trick as he slotted his third goal. Another hat trick was on the horizon as Moses also found his third goal of the game and the first lead for Northwestern with 04:53 left in the fourth.
It would take the Rams 25 seconds to equalize the scoreline at seven all. It seemed like the two teams were heading to overtime before Cornell found an opportunity in the final minute and a half. They were a man up and capitalized with a goal to retake the lead 8-7. The faceoff would not go the way of UNW as CC closed the game out ahead 8-7.
Both teams were matching each other shot for shot as the Rams finished the game with 32 shots to the Eagles 28. Northwestern had 19 shots on net while Cornell had 17.
Robert McHenry (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) stood strong in the net as he had nine saves for UNW.
The Eagles will be on the road as they cross over to Wisconsin for a game against the Lumberjacks of Northland College on Tuesday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m.
