MEQUON, Wis. - The Concordia University Wisconsin men's lacrosse team faced another tough challenge in their non-conference schedule, hosting the 7-1 Carthage College Firebirds. Despite a strong start, the Falcons were unable to secure the win, falling 17-11 to drop to 1-4 on the season.
Concordia came out strong, taking a quick 3-0 lead. Junior Preston Meier (Owatonna, Minn.) put the Falcons on the board just 28 seconds into the game, with sophomore Bryce Petersen (Waukesha, Wis.) assisting off a faceoff win from sophomore Jaxon Hill (Bismarck, N.D.).
Minutes later, senior Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.) extended the lead to 2-0, finishing off a pass from senior Caleb Ruger (Grafton). Senior Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.) made it 3-0, dodging through the Firebird defense and scoring from long range.
However, following a Carthage timeout, the Firebirds regrouped and scored six unanswered goals, taking a 6-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Despite the setback, the Falcons did not back down, outscoring Carthage 4-3 in the second quarter, while the Firebirds led 9-7 at halftime.
Bryce Petersen got things started in the second with a goal just 44 seconds into the quarter, assisted by sophomore Tyler Husby (Eagan, Minn.). With 8:36 left in the half, Petersen returned the favor to Husby, who scored during a man-up opportunity. Petersen added another goal at 5:17, assisted by Esposito. The Falcons' final goal of the half came with 32 seconds remaining, as Meier converted on a man-up opportunity with an assist from Nowotarski.
After the break, Carthage scored the first two goals of the third quarter. But the Falcons answered back, cutting their deficit to 11-8 when senior Michael Lange (Brookfield, Wis.) scored, assisted by junior Connor Quill (Schaumburg, Ill.). Carthage responded with two more goals, pulling away to a 13-8 lead.
The Falcons continued to fight, scoring twice in the final 2:25 of the third quarter. Nowotarski found the back of the net with a pass from Ruger, and Petersen scored again off an assist from Husby, cutting the Firebirds' lead to 13-10 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Carthage added some insurance, outscoring Concordia 4-1 to seal the 17-11 victory.
As a team, the Falcons went 20-of-27 on clears and won 17 faceoffs to Carthage's 15. They also scooped up 43 ground balls, compared to the Firebirds' 33, and capitalized on two of their three man-up opportunities.
Individually, Bryce Petersen led the team with six points, recording four goals and two assists. Nowotarski and Meier each scored twice, with Nowotarski surpassing the 150-career point milestone. Husby added three assists. Jaxon Hill had a team-high 14 ground balls and went 15-of-26 on faceoffs.
Hill, Meier, Nowotarski, and senior Scott Lileks (Boise, Idaho) each caused a turnover. In goal, sophomore Travis Marquardt (Brookfield, Wis.) made 23 saves.
The Falcons will now turn their attention to conference play, opening up against Aurora next Wednesday. Aurora is projected to win the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) according to the NACC preseason poll.
