GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Concordia University Wisconsin women's lacrosse team defeated Southwestern in a comeback overtime thriller Friday night. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved up due to possible storms in the area. It also marked the first time in program history that the Falcons have played back-to-back overtime contests. CUW finishes its spring break trip to Texas with a 1-1 record.
 
Friday's matchup marked just the second all-time meeting between the two teams, with the previous contest coming in 2018 when the Falcons also earned a victory.
 
Southwestern struck first, but CUW answered two minutes later when senior Katelyn Cardinale (Mount Laurel, N.J.) found the back of the net off an assist from classmate Claire Geidel (Seward, Neb.).
 
The Pirates added two more goals before Geidel cut into the deficit with just over six minutes remaining in the half. The junior took a pass from Emily Robertson (Canton, Mich.) before finishing the scoring play. Southwestern responded with three unanswered goals before halftime to take a 6-2 lead.
 
Southwestern extended its lead to six early in the second half before the Falcons mounted a comeback with a five-goal run in the third quarter. Over the final 13 minutes of the period, Cardinale and Geidel led the charge, scoring three and two goals respectively. Four of the five goals were unassisted, while senior Makayla Spejcher (Green Bay, Wis.) recorded an assist on the final goal of the quarter. One of Geidel's goals came on a man-up opportunity. During the run, Southwestern made a goalie change, but the move did little to slow CUW's offensive surge.
 
Cardinale scored the tying goal with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation. The senior capitalized on another man-up opportunity off a pass from junior Carolyn Bourgeault (Buffalo, N.Y.) to knot the score at eight.
 
The Falcons took their first lead of the night at the 4:49 mark when Bourgeault was awarded a free-position shot. The junior converted the opportunity for her second goal of the season.
 
After nearly 24 minutes without scoring, Southwestern found the equalizer with 2:12 remaining to force overtime.
 
Robertson delivered the game-winner for the Falcons in overtime after Geidel caused a Pirate turnover in the CUW offensive zone and quickly converting the opportunity.
 
Cardinale finished the night with five goals for the Falcons, recording her second straight hat trick of the season. She also led the team with 11 shots, seven shots on goal, and nine ground balls. Geidel added four goals for her first career hat trick.
 
In the draw circle, Robertson led the Falcons with four draw controls and also paced the team with five caused turnovers.
 
Junior Parks Cawthray (Oakville, Ont.) earned the start in goal for CUW, making three saves to improve to 1-1 on the season.
 
The Falcons return to Wisconsin to host UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Fitting Field.