MEQUON, Wis. – The University of Northwestern Men's Lacrosse team was back in action Saturday, and through three quarters was holding its own at undefeated Concordia University Wisconsin. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Concordia exploded for 12 goals in the fourth quarter to ultimately win, 20-7.
After CUW jumped out to a 2-0 lead,
Sam Moses (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) got Northwestern on the board with an unassisted goal with 7:41 left in the first quarter. The 2-1 score would hold for the remainder of the quarter. The Falcons scored the first four goals of the second period to extend its lead to 6-1, but the Eagles showed no quit, responding with three goals of their own.
Khoa Vu (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) scored with 6:58 and 2:01 left, then assisted on a
Christian Mitchell (Oak Grove, Minn./PACT Charter School) goal with under a minute left to close out the half. Suddenly, it was a ballgame at 6-4.
Concordia scored the first goal of the second half, but UNW once again had an answer.
Brenden Schuffenhauer (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) found
Tyler Heyen (Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake) with 8:24 left to make it 7-5, and an unassisted
Ryan Adkins (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) goal made it a one-point game with 5:58 left in the third. The Falcons scored once more before the period ended, but only held an 8-6 lead with 15 minutes to play. CUW, however, did not flinch and scored four goals in the opening six minutes of the final frame to take a commanding, 12-6 lead. Heyen found the back of the net for the second time with 8:44 left (assisted by Mitchell), but the Falcons tacked on eight more goals after that to close out a 20-7 win.
Heyen and Vu led the offensive effort for UNW with two goals apiece, with the latter adding an assist as well. Adkins scored a goal, led the team with six ground balls and won 14 face-offs in 30 opportunities. Mitchell and Moses each scored as well, with the former also tallying an assist.
Jakob Montesi (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) picked up five ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Joseph Kalski (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) caused two turnovers as well and
Richard Hemric III (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) contributed three ground balls.
Robert McHenry (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) made 14 saves in cage.
Northwestern will be on the road again Thursday, March 7th, traveling west to Midland University. Face-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM in Fremont, Nebraska, following the conclusion of the women's game.
