CHICAGO, Ill. – The CUW men's lacrosse team finished their 2023 season with a NACC Semifinal matchup with the Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech.

The Scarlet Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead to kick off the game.

The Falcons tied it up with back-to-back goals from sophomores Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.) and Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.). Esposito's goal was assisted by freshman Jason Michalski (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.).

Illinois Tech took a 3-2 lead.

Sophomore Pat Ryan (Western Springs, Ill.) tied the game at three with an assist from junior Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.).

The Scarlet Hawks regained the lead with their fourth goal.

The Falcons took the lead to finish the quarter with a 5-4 lead. Pat Ryan and Max Esposito found the back of the net for the lead. Esposito's goal came with five seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Illinois Tech scored the first goal of the second quarter.

Nowotarski and senior Matt Sierzega (Grayslake, Ill.) scored back-to-back goals to take the 7-5 lead. 

Sierzega was assisted by Ruger.

With 18 seconds left in the half, the Scarlet Hawks cut the Falcon lead to one and the teams headed into the break with a 7-6, CUW lead.

The Scarlet Hawks were the only team to score in the third quarter with three goals.

The Red and Black scored the first three goals of the final frame to take the 12-7 lead.

Senior Jack Gromosky (Danville, Ind.) netted the first of three Falcon goals to end the matchup. 

Esposito and Nowotarski sunk the other two to finish the game with a final score of 12-10 in favor of Illinois Tech.

Both Max Esposito and Gio Nowotarski had hattrick performances.

The Blue and White finish the 2023 season with an 11-6 overall record and a 6-2 conference record.