ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Lacrosse team found itself in an unusual position Saturday afternoon—hosting a game in the month of February. The Eagles welcomed Milwaukee School of Engineering to Reynolds Field to open its 2024 season under sunny skies. The two teams battled tightly in the first half before the Raiders pulled away for a 13-4 win to remain undefeated at 2-0.
MSOE got out of the gates quickly, scoring two goals in the opening 4:24 that came within 42 seconds of each other. Northwestern was not deterred, however, as the Eagles scored two of their own to even the score.
Sam Moses (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) found
Christian Mitchell (Oak Grove, Minn./PACT Charter School) for the first goal of UNW's season, then Mitchell assisted on
Khoa Vu's (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) goal with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Raiders briefly reclaimed the lead with 6:34 left in the opening half, but Moses found the back of the net just 35 seconds later to tie the game at three. MSOE closed the half strong, however, tacking on three more scores to build a 6-3 halftime advantage.
MSOE scored three minutes into the third quarter to extend its lead to four, but Vu answered back with his second goal of the day, again assisted by Mitchell. The 7-4 deficit was the closest the Eagles would come for the rest of the game, however, as the Raiders scored twice more in the third quarter and four times in the fourth to take home a 13-4 victory.
Vu's two goals were the highlight for Northwester, who also got goals from Moses (four shots on goal) and Mitchell, the latter of whom added two assists.
Tyler Heyen (Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake) also fired two shots on goal.
Ryan Adkins (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and
Robert McHenry (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) led the team with six ground balls each. Adkins also won 12 of his 19 face-offs and McHenry made 12 saves in cage.
Brenden Schuffenhauer (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added five ground balls, while Heyen tallied three and led the team with three caused turnovers as well. McHenry,
Eli Olmscheid (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) and
Jakob Montesi (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) all caused two turnovers apiece.
The Eagles will head across the border next Saturday, March 2
nd, for their next contest. They will face off with Concordia University Wisconsin as part of a women's-men's doubleheader. The men's game is scheduled for 2:00 PM in Mequon.
