MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin's defense was too much for Beloit College on Thursday afternoon and the Falcons offense was dominant at times during an 8-1 Midwest Lacrosse Conference victory at Fitting Field.

The Falcons shut down the Buccaneers from the opening faceoff and limited them to just one shot, while forcing 10 turnovers. CUW blanked Beloit on the scoreboard during the opening half and added four goals in the third period to put the game out of reach.

CUW (4-3, 1-0 MLC) finished with a commanding 46-9 shots advantage, including 21-4 on goal. They also forced 26 Beloit turnovers, of which 12 were caused, and cleared 22-of-26 attempts. In all, eight Falcons recorded a point in the league victory, with senior Derek Brueske (Hopkins, Minn.) leading all players with four points (three assists).

Junior Marino Best (Nanaimo, British Columbia) found the back of the net three times, all in the second half, including the last two scores of the game. Freshman Nicholas Nayersina (Grayslake, Ill.) scored his first career goal just under three minutes into the third quarter.

Defensively, junior Mark Wilson (Calgary, Alberta) picked up a team-high five ground balls and senior Christopher Grenz (Centennial, Colo.) picked up four ground balls and caused a game-best three turnovers. Junior Danny Bundra (Lake Zurich, Ill.) won 6-of-11 faceoffs and picked up two ground balls. Junior Thomas Mueller (Prior Lake, Minn.) nearly played a complete game and made three saves in a winning effort.

Grant Olie scored the Buccaneers only goal, while Jake Wallace was credited with a game-high six ground balls and three caused turnovers for the visitors (2-4, 1-1 MLC). In goal, John Murphy took the loss after playing 46:32 and making 11 saves.

Shots were being taken early in the contest for the Falcons and the Buccaneers were being forced to the turn the ball over until junior Matt Garvey (Winnipeg, Manitoba) tallied the first goal of the game with 2:17 to play in the first quarter. CUW also made an impressive play before the period ended; by causing a turnover, picking up the ball and going the length of the field in 10 seconds to add another goal, that one by senior David Mueller (Prior Lake, Minn.), which was assisted by Brueske.

CUW steps away from conference play on Sunday for a 1 pm matchup against Whittier College.