MEQUON, Wis. - After suffering a heartbreaking, last-minute loss in Thursday night's season opener, the University of Northwestern Women's Lacrosse team was not afforded much time to hang their heads. The Eagles were back in action less than 48 hours later, traveling to Concordia University Wisconsin for a showdown between two teams who posted winning records in 2023. Northwestern fell behind early but once they got on the board, the Eagles did not trail for the remainder of the game, bringing a 13-8 win back across the border to St. Paul.
The Falcons got on the board first, just over four minutes into the contest, but the Eagles got a goal from
Maddie Hauer (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) two minutes later to even things up. Once Hauer opened the floodgates, UNW dominated the rest of the opening period.
Abby Scheel (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), who had two assists in the season opener, found
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) for a goal less than two minutes after Hauer's to give Northwestern the lead. Hauer found the back of the net again with 2:43 left, then Smith drew even with her teammate shortly after with her second goal of the opening frame, once again assisted by Scheel. UNW led 4-1 after a strong first quarter.
The Eagles carried their momentum into the second quarter when
Lauren Paar (Centerville, Minn./Centennial), coming off a four-goal outburst on Thursday, took a pass from
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and banged it home a mere 45 seconds in. Concordia cut the lead to 5-2 a minute later, but with 8:13 left in the half, Thompson scored a goal of her own off yet another assist by Scheel (her third of the day). Three minutes later,
Emma Ruegemer (Cold Spring, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) scored off a feed from Smith, then Scheel took a break from dropping dimes to score herself, also assisted by Smith. CUW tacked on one more goal before the half, but the Eagles held a commanding, 8-3 lead at the break.
The third quarter went scoreless for the first 50% of it before Concordia added two more goals to make things interesting at 8-5. Smith, a team captain, didn't let the run continue, as she scored a man-up goal to give herself a hat trick and her team a 9-5 cushion. The Falcons again cut back into the UNW lead with two more goals, but they had no answer for Smith, who called her own number for goal number four of the day to push the lead to 10-7. CUW scored in the closing seconds of the third quarter to keep those watching on the edge of their seats, but the final period was all Northwestern. Hauer finished off her hat trick with a goal with 11:38 left, then Scheel and Smith picked up their third and fourth assists of the game, respectively, on goals by Thompson and
Emma Snyder (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) in the final 2:31. UNW's first win of the season came via a 13-8 score.
Smith was a force on both ends for Northwestern. Not only did she put up four goals and three assists, but she also led the team with six caused turnovers and three draw controls, while adding two ground balls. Hauer put together a tremendous two-way effort herself, scoring a hat trick and leading UNW with five ground balls and three draw controls, plus four caused turnovers. Thompson added two goals and an assist, Scheel one goal and a whopping four assists, and Snyder one goal, two ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Ruegemer contributed one goal and one assist.
Gabrielle Milroy (Superior, Wis./Lakeview Christian Academy) and
Reegan Duininck (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) each tallied two caused turnovers and
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) made a game-high nine saves in net.
It will be another quick turnaround for the Eagles, as they will return home to take on Wisconsin-River Falls on Tuesday night. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM at Reynolds Field.
