ST. PAUL, Minn. – University of Northwestern Men's Lacrosse hosted Edgewood College on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference contest at Reynolds Field.
Connor Proshek (Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount) scored a game-winner for UNW with just 2.1 seconds left on the clock to lift Northwestern a 9-8 victory in their home opener.
For a game that had such a thrilling ending, the opening was relatively subdued. Edgewood scored the one and only goal of the opening quarter and added another in the opening minute of the second to go up 2-0.
Sam Moses (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) put UNW on the board midway through that second period, but Edgewood added one more in the closing minutes to take a 3-1 lead for UNW into halftime.
After both teams combined for just four goals in the opening 30 minutes, Northwestern caught fire after halftime. UNW scored five consecutive goals in the first nine minutes of the third quarter to take a 6-3 lead in the game. Edgewood severed Northwestern's scoring streak with a pair of goals to close out the third quarter.
Leading 6-5 with 15 minutes to go, UNW proceeded to double their lead in the opening minute of the final frame with a goal by
Isaac Geurink (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East). Prosheck followed with the first of two goals in the game to put Northwestern up 8-5 with 10:56 to go.
Edgewood kept on fighting and rallied with three consecutive goals to tie the game up at 8-8 with 3:18 remaining in regulation.
In the final minute, Northwestern gained control of the ball with a chance for one final attack in regulation. An initial attempt to drive to the front of the goal resulted in the ball being knocked loose and up for grabs. With just seconds remaining, Proshek made his move; stepping up to win the contested loose ball and turning to fire his game-winner in two quick motions, sending the hundreds-strong crowd of UNW Nation supporters into an elated eruption of joy.
With just 2.1 seconds remaining, the clock expired before the ensuing faceoff could be won, leading the Northwestern bench to storm the field to celebrate their 9-8 victory with their ecstatic teammates as UNW Nation cheered them on.
The trio of
Christian Mitchell (Oak Grove, Minn./PACT Charter School), Proshek, and Moses led Northwestern with two goals each.
Austin Lemke (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Saint Croix Lutheran Academy),
Thomas Alderson (Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead), and Geurink accounted for the remaining three UNW goals.
On defense,
Jared Schultz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and Moses each had two caused turnovers.
Robert McHenry (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) earned the win in goal with eight saves.
Up next, Northwestern will travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa for a battle against Cornell College on Saturday, April 1 at 2:00pm.
