WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's lacrosse team cruised in the final non-conference clash of the season on Monday night at Carroll. The Falcons soared to an 18-6 victory to improve to 5-7.
Senior Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.) scored the first goal 39 seconds into the contest off a side-armed shot.
Senior Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.) scored right in front of the crease off a pass from senior Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.) in the second minute of the contest.
Sophomore Bryce Petersen (Waukesha, Wis.) scored 16 seconds later off a pass from Caleb Ruger in his return to his homeland.
It was 4-0 with 12:47 left in the first quarter after Max Esposito found Caleb Ruger open, and Ruger found the back of the net.
With 12:01 left, Max Esposito found Bryce Petersen open from behind the net, and Petersen cashed in again.
Gio Nowotarski struck again with 9:18 left in the first quarter on a stutter-step, and the sidearm shot struck again.
The Falcons marched down the field, and senior Michael Lange (Brookfield, Wis.) bounced in the shot off a pass from Bryce Petersen.
The eighth goal of the night came from Bryce Petersen off a pass from Max Esposito.
Petersen scored again from four yards out off a crisp pass from Caleb Ruger.
The Pioneers did not have the ball of their offensive half of the field until after five minutes left in the quarter.
Bryce Petersen scored with 1:17 left off a beautiful pass from sophomore Tyler Husby (Eagan, Minn.).
The 10 goals are the second-most goals in a quarter for the Falcons this season. CUW had 13 goals in the first quarter of the Northland game.
Junior Preston Meier (Owatonna, Minn.) cut through the Pioneer defense, and Max Esposito found him open for the first goal of the second quarter.
The Pioneers got on the scoreboard with 13:39 left in the second quarter
Caleb Ruger scored once again in front of the net off a long pass from Max Esposito. The goal was his 200th career point.
Carroll struck again to cut the Concordia lead to 12-2 with 1:09 left in the second quarter.
Tyler Husby broke past his defender and snuck the ball past the goalie with 30 seconds left in the half to give the Birds a 13-2 lead at halftime.
The Orange and Blue had the first goal of the third quarter at the 11:13 mark.
Max Esposito scored a man-up goal just left of the net off a pass from Bryce Petersen.
Caleb Ruger charged the net, and Max Esposito found Ruger once again for the 15th goal of the night.
After the faceoff win, Tyler Husby cut to the net and scored off another assist to Max Esposito.
The Pioneers scored their fourth goal of the season from 15 yards out and scored the fifth goal with 2:02 left in the quarter.
The Falcons carried a 16-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Travis Marquardt (Brookfield, Wis.) earned the victory in the net and had seven saves in the first three quarters of the contest.
The Pioneers scored the first goal of the fourth quarter with 12:09 left in the contest.
The Falcons responded with Preston Meier stealing the ball and attacking the net for a goal.
Freshman Carter Lyons (Grand Rapids, Mich.) scored the final goal of the contest with 40 seconds left in the contest.
Freshman Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) had four saves in the fourth quarter
Max Esposito led the contest with nine points on a goal and eight assists to tie his career high.
Bryce Petersen led the game with his five-goal performance.
The Birds dominated the faceoff circle again on Monday. Sophomore Jaxon Hill (Bismarck, N.D.) won 11 of 14. Junior Frank Trewyn (Mukwonago, Wis.) won eight of 12, and sophomore Jaxon Niemeyer (Tinley Park, Ill.) won both of his faceoffs.
The Falcons held a 42-41 advantage in shots on Monday night.
The Blue and White scored on their lone man-up opportunity of the night and held the Pioneers scoreless on their three attempts.
Senior Cooper Fellows (De Pere, Wis.) led the Falcons with six ground balls.
Concordia Wisconsin returns to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Wednesday night at Lawrence.
