DUBUQUE, Iowa – In a battle of two red-hot teams, the third-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin men's lacrosse team edged second-seeded Dubuque, 14-13, on Wednesday night to advance to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament Championship for the second consecutive season.
Both squads entered the semifinal riding seven-game win streaks, and the highly anticipated matchup delivered a wire-to-wire thriller. With the win, the Falcons improved to 12-7 overall and avenged a 15-14 regular-season loss to the Spartans.
CUW struck first, just under three minutes in. Junior Preston Meier (Owatonna, Minn.) cleared the ball himself, raced down the left alley, and ripped a shot that found the back of the net. Just minutes later, freshman Jackson Knutson (Roseville, Minn.) made it 2-0, sneaking a tight-angle shot past the keeper from the right side with 8:02 remaining in the first quarter.
Dubuque responded with a pair of goals to tie the game at 2-2 by the end of the first.
The Spartans carried that momentum into the second quarter, scoring three more times to build a 5-2 lead.
CUW halted the run with a solo effort from senior Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.), who wrapped around the crease and fired a shot through the goalie's legs. Less than a minute later, Esposito fed senior Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.) for a top-of-the-crease goal that trimmed the deficit to 5-4.
After another Dubuque tally, Esposito responded again with a spectacular backhanded goal near the crease, pulling CUW back within one at 6-5.
However, the Spartans answered with two quick goals at 8:10 and 7:51 to go up 8-5.
CUW's offense responded with four unanswered goals in a dynamic stretch. First, sophomore Bryce Petersen (Waukesha, Wis.) buried a wide-open shot off a pinpoint cross-field pass from Esposito.
On the next possession, freshman Jaxon Hill (Bismarck, N.D.) won the faceoff and found senior Cooper Fellows (De Pere, Wis.) for an easy finish.
Ruger followed with his second of the night, scoring on a backhanded shot after receiving a pass from sophomore Tyler Husby (Eagan, Minn.) near the top of the crease.
Petersen capped the run with his second, giving CUW a 9-8 lead with 3:50 to go in the half after a sharp assist from senior Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.), forcing a Dubuque timeout.
The Spartans scored in the final seconds of the half to tie it 9-9 going into the break.
Dubuque regained the lead early in the third quarter.
But CUW responded once again as Nowotarski intercepted a pass and led the transition, dishing to Petersen, who dodged past a defender and scored to tie it 10-10.
The Spartans retook the lead shortly after and entered the final quarter ahead 11-10.
Dubuque opened the fourth with another score to make it 12-10, but CUW immediately answered.
Off of another faceoff win, Hill muscled through heavy contact and a couple of penalties before scoring the unassisted goal with 13:16 to go.
A few minutes later, Esposito tied the game with another sensational solo effort, taking a self-restart, diving through the crease, and scoring while airborne to make it 12-12.
Dubuque responded at 6:48, but the Falcons had an answer again. Esposito, under pressure, delivered a slick pass to Husby, who finished the chance in traffic to even things at 13-13 with 5:07 remaining.
With under three minutes to go, Nowotarski delivered the game-winner. He flew down the right side and fired a missile past the Dubuque goalie, giving CUW a 14-13 lead with 2:52 left.
From there, the Falcon defense locked in and forced a turnover in the final 30 seconds, clearing the ball to ice the win.
Esposito led the charge with five points with three goals and two assists, including several clutch plays late. Petersen scored a hat trick on just four shots on goal, while Ruger added two goals.
Hill was key in possession, winning 11 faceoffs and collecting seven ground balls. Meier added five ground balls as well.
In net, freshman Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) made six saves to earn his second career win.
CUW won the ground ball battle 32-29, forced 22 Dubuque turnovers, and went 21-of-25 on clears.
The Falcons will now face the winner of top-seeded Aurora and fourth-seeded Lake Forest in the NACC Championship Game.
