MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's lacrosse team opened Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play on Wednesday afternoon against conference favorite Aurora. The Spartans entered the matchup riding a 38-game NACC winning streak dating back to 2021—and extended it with an 11-9 victory over the Falcons.
Sophomore Bryce Marval (Glenview, Ill.) wasted no time getting Concordia on the board, scoring in transition to open the contest. He struck again four minutes later, finishing a rebound off a shot from sophomore Jackson Knutson (Roseville, Minn.).
Freshman Blane Vrana (Monument, Colo.) extended the lead after spinning past his defender and finishing off an assist from Marval. Marval completed his hat trick in the final minute of the first quarter, connecting with Vrana to push the Falcons further ahead.
Concordia added another goal in the closing seconds of the quarter when freshman Brayden Wilson (Pueblo West, Colo.) sliced through the defense, giving the Falcons a 5-0 lead after one.
Aurora answered early in the second quarter, scoring within the first minute. The Falcons responded with a man-up goal from freshman Gaje Germundson (Nisswa, Minn.), who finished a crisp feed from Wilson following the game's lone penalty.
Three minutes later, freshman Kaleb Weikel (Andover, Minn.) dove in for a goal off an assist from Knutson, stretching the lead to 7-1. However, the Spartans closed the half with two goals, trimming the deficit to 7-3 at the break.
Aurora carried that momentum into the second half, opening the third quarter with three consecutive goals to cut the lead to one. Junior Tyler Husby (Eagan, Minn.) halted the run with a sharp-angle finish, but the Spartans struck again late in the quarter to make it 8-7 heading into the fourth.
The Spartans tied the game just one minute into the final frame. Wilson answered two minutes later, crashing the net and finishing off another assist from Marval to briefly restore the Falcons' lead.
From there, Aurora controlled possession and closed the game on a 3-0 run to secure the comeback victory.
Aurora held advantages in both shots (54-40) and shots on goal (36-23). Sophomore Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) recorded 25 saves in the effort.
The Falcons, now 6-1, will look to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Benedictine.
