FREMONT, Neb. – The University of Northwestern Men's Lacrosse team was back on the road Thursday at Midland University and was able to come away with its first win of the 2024 season. Northwestern used a blitzkrieg of offensive output in the first quarter to coast to a 15-5 victory and bring its record to 1-2 on the season. With the loss, Midland fell to 0-3.
UNW wasted no time getting cooking, as some outstanding ball movement culminated in
Austin Lemke (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Saint Croix Lutheran Academy) finding
Christian Mitchell (Oak Grove, Minn./PACT Charter School) for the game's opening goal just 2:55 in. With 9:48 left,
Richard Hemric III (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) shot out of a cannon and scored to open up a 2-0 lead. Mitchell tacked on his second of the day with 5:57 left, then Lemke scored himself two minutes later.
Brenden Schuffenhauer (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) scored off a
Sam Moses (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) feed with 1:49 left, then
Tyler Heyen (Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake) found the back of the net 48 seconds later. With one quarter complete, the Eagles found themselves with a commanding, 6-0 lead.
The quarter break did not slow Northwestern's momentum, as Schuffenhauer and Moses switched roles from their last connection just 56 seconds into the period, resulting in a Moses goal to make it 7-0. Midland finally got on the board with 9:32 remaining, but
Ryan Adkins (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) took the face-off and took it all the way for a quick goal to push the lead back to seven at 8-1. That score would hold for the final 9:18 as the teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.
The Warriors struck first in the third quarter, but UNW answered back in style, as
Khoa Vu (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) took a Lemke pass and shot it behind his head and into the net for a highlight reel goal that made it 9-2, Eagles. Midland got one back with 4:54 left in the third, but Northwestern closed the quarter strong, getting goals from Adkins on the ensuing face-off and Heyen, assisted by Moses. Northwestern led 11-3 heading into the final period.
The hosts scored first in the fourth before it turned into the
Christian Mitchell (Oak Grove, Minn./PACT Charter School) show. The sophomore went nuclear, scoring three consecutive goals to make it 14-4, Eagles. One was assisted by Schuffenhauer and another by Lemke. After the Warriors scored with 2:13 left in the game, Adkins decided to tack on one more to net his first hat trick of the season, weaving his way through the Warriors defense after the ensuing face-off. That would be the final score in the 15-5 win for Northwestern.
Mitchell led the offensive charge with five goals. Adkins was terrific, scoring three goals, snagging 14 ground balls and winning 20 of 26 face-offs. Moses and Schuffenhauer each scored one goal and dished out two assists, while the latter also added six ground balls. Lemke racked up one goal, three assists and four ground balls, while Heyen added a pair of goals, and Vu and Hemric each one. Defensively,
Jakob Montesi (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) led the way with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Jared Schultz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and
Joseph Kalski (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) added four and three ground balls, respectively.
Robert McHenry (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) saved six of the 11 shots he faced.
Northwestern will look to build off this win on Saturday, March 16
th, back at home at Reynolds Field. The Eagles will host Marian University at 2:30 PM. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for all things UNW Lacrosse.
