MEQUON, Wis. - The third-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin men's lacrosse team punched its ticket to the newly expanded Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament semifinals on Saturday, securing a 13-5 victory over sixth-seeded Illinois Tech at Fitting Field.
The win marked the Falcons' second-ever NACC Tournament victory, avenged a regular-season loss to the Scarlet Hawks, and for the second straight year, ended IIT's season on CUW's home turf.
With the victory, the Falcons improved to 11-7 overall.
CUW wasted no time setting the tone, scoring just 50 seconds into the game as senior Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.) powered through the IIT defense for the opening goal. Ruger added a second goal off a feed from senior Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.) to make it 2-0. After IIT briefly cut the lead in half, senior Michael Lange (Brookfield, Wis.) went coast-to-coast to score in the final minute of the first quarter, giving the Falcons a 3-1 advantage after one.
In the second quarter, the Falcons' defense took over, shutting out the Scarlet Hawks while freshman Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) made three key saves. Offensively, CUW pulled away as Ruger struck twice more, first on a man-up opportunity, then at even strength, before assisting sophomore Bryce Petersen (Waukesha, Wis.) for another man-up goal to stretch the lead to 6-1 heading into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Falcons kept their foot on the gas. Petersen found Ruger for the first goal of the half, and junior Preston Meier (Owatonna, Minn.) added another just minutes later to make it 8-1. Although IIT ended its long scoring drought, CUW answered immediately, with Petersen finishing a pass from Esposito to push the lead to 9-2 entering the fourth.
The Falcons continued to dominate in the final frame. Ruger notched his sixth goal of the day early in the quarter, and just 10 seconds later, sophomore Ben Birch (Grafton, Wis.) scooped up a faceoff ground ball and sprinted downfield for an unassisted goal. Sophomore Tyler Husby (Eagan, Minn.) added a tally with 8:33 left, and Petersen capped his hat trick two minutes later to seal the 13-5 final.
CUW controlled every major statistical category, outshooting IIT 28-16 on goal, committing just 16 turnovers to IIT's 21, and converting 23-of-25 clear attempts. The Falcons also edged the Scarlet Hawks in ground balls and faceoffs.
Individually, Caleb Ruger paced the Falcons with a career-high seven points, scoring six goals and adding an assist. Bryce Petersen finished with five points (three goals, two assists), while Max Esposito distributed a team-high four assists.
Sophomore Jaxon Hill (Bismarck, N.D.) dominated the faceoff X, winning 11-of-14 draws and collecting seven ground balls. Michael Lange anchored the defense with five ground balls and four caused turnovers, while senior Scott Lileks (Boise, Idaho) chipped in three caused turnovers of his own.
In goal, Nolan O'Malley earned his first career win, recording 11 saves in his third collegiate start.
With the win, the Falcons advance to the NACC semifinals and will travel to Dubuque to face the second-seeded Spartans.
