MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin men's lacrosse team earned its first win of the season, dominating the Lumberjacks of Northland College with a 23-4 victory. With the win, the Falcons improve to 1-3 on the year.
This marks the first time since April 20 of last season that CUW has scored 20 or more goals in a game.
The Falcons came out strong, quickly building a commanding 13-1 lead in the first quarter. Sophomore Bryce Petersen (Waukesha, Wis.) played a key role in establishing the lead, assisting on four of CUW's first five goals and scoring the other. The opening three goals came from seniors Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.) and Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.), along with junior Preston Meier (Owatonna, Minn.).
Petersen then added to the lead, scoring his first goal with 10:47 remaining in the first quarter, assisted by senior Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.).
The onslaught continued as freshman Jackson Knutson (Roseville, Minn.) found the net, and just 10 seconds later, senior Michael Lange (Brookfield, Wis.) won the faceoff, leading to Ruger scoring with Lange providing the assist.
The Falcons' seventh goal came from Nowotarski, with Esposito earning his 150th career assist, becoming the first player in CUW men's lacrosse history to reach that milestone. Esposito then scored CUW's eighth goal, while Ruger netted the ninth off an assist from Petersen. Petersen kept up the scoring, adding his second goal of the game off a pass from fellow sophomore Joe Ginter (Waukesha, Wis.), marking Ginter's first point of the season.
The final three goals of the first quarter came from senior Hunter Swazey (Escondido, Calif.), Meier, and Esposito.
The second quarter saw the Falcons continue to pour it on. Ruger opened the scoring in the second frame with a goal at the 11:26 mark before assisting freshman Will Downs (Northfield, Minn.) on his first collegiate goal. Freshman Charlie Jerde (Hanover, Minn.) followed with his first career goal, converting a pass from Petersen.
Less than 90 seconds later, senior Orion Danou (Janesville, Wis.) scored, with freshman Bode Rachey (Warman, Sask.) earning the assist on his first collegiate point. Sophomore Ryan Svehla (Minooka, Ill.) then got into the action, scoring his first goal of the year, assisted by Downs.
The Falcons finished the half with three quick goals. Petersen converted a man-up goal, Rachey scored his first collegiate goal, and Svehla set up senior Cooper Fellows (De Pere, Wis.) for a goal, giving CUW a dominant 21-1 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, the Lumberjacks managed to outscore the Falcons 2-0, trimming the deficit to 21-3. CUW responded with two more goals in the fourth quarter, closing out the game with a 23-4 final score.
Senior Hans Milchling (Cockeysville, Md.) scored the first goal of the fourth quarter with Rachey assisting, and with 2:19 remaining, junior Lawrence Kettle (Eagle, Wis.) wrapped up the contest with his first goal of the season, assisted by Milchling.
As a team, the Falcons fired 66 shots compared to Northland's 9. CUW also excelled in clears, going 14-of-16, while Northland was just 7-of-20. The Falcons dominated faceoffs, winning 25 of 30, and outpaced the Lumberjacks in ground balls, 59-16. CUW also went a perfect 1-for-1 on extra-man opportunities.
Individually, 15 different Falcons scored, and 17 players tallied points in the game. Petersen had a career day, recording 10 points with three goals and a career-high seven assists. Esposito finished with two goals and five assists, while Ruger contributed four goals and three assists for seven points.
On the defensive side, Cooper Fellows led the team with six ground balls, followed by Rachey with six. Esposito, Nowotarski, junior Frank Trewyn (Mukwonago, Wis.), Meier, sophomore Jaxon Niemeyer (Tinley Park, Ill.), and freshman Eric Plasencia (Chula Vista, Calif.) all collected four ground balls.
Defensively, sophomore Sean McMullen (Truckee, Calif.) posted a team-high four caused turnovers, while freshman Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) recorded three saves in net. Trewyn went 11-of-12 on faceoffs, while Niemeyer went 5-of-7. Sophomore Jaxon Hill also had a strong showing, winning 9-of-12 faceoffs.
Next up, the Falcons will continue their home action with a matchup against Carthage College on Saturday.
