Men's Lacrosse drops season-opener at John Carroll

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Concordia Wisconsin fell behind by three goals and couldn't find enough offense in the final quarter, as John Carroll earned a close 6-5 victory on Saturday at Don Shula Stadium.

THE BASICS
Final Score: John Carroll 6, Concordia Wisconsin 5
Location: Don Shlua Stadium (University Heights, Ohio)
Records: John Carroll 1-1, Concordia Wisconsin 0-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blue Streaks built a quick 4-0 lead after nearly 12 minutes of play and held on for the win, despite two goals by the Falcons in the fourth quarter to get within one with six minutes to play.
- It was a defensive game throughout, as just 11 goals were scored by the two teams and a combined 0-of-9 occurred in man-up opportunities.
- Declan O'Grady scored two fo the first four goals for John Carroll in the opening period, but CUW answered with back-to-back goals by senior Zachary Foster (Calgary, Alberta) and freshman Stephen Gregory (Louisville, Ky.).
- The Blue Streak's RP Whitty then scored a pair of goals in the third period, while junior Colin Raley (Inverness, Ill.) found the back of the net for the Falcons to put the scoreboard at 6-3 in favor of the hosts after 45 minutes of action.
- Senior Matt Garvey (Winnipeg, Manitoba) got into the scoring column less than a minute into the fourth quarter and Raley added another goal eight minutes later, but the Falcons couldn't find the game-tying goal down the stretch.
- Freshman Garrett Wohlford (Rochester, Minn.) made the start in goal for the Falcons, making 12 saves.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- In the three all-time meetings between the two programs, they have been decided by a combined four goals.
- The Blue Streaks cleared 19-of-20 attempts, while the Falcons were 16-of-18 on the clear. The hosts also had a 25-14 lead in ground balls.
- John Carroll controlled the faceoff circle, winning 10-of-15 attempts, all of which were by Kyle Patterson.
- The Falcons performed well and were whistled for just two penalties, while the Blue Streaks were called for seven infractions.

THE OPPOSITION
- RP Whitty ended with a hat trick to lead all scorers, while Declan O'Grady had two goals for John Carroll. Collin Rice and Dominic Starvaggi each had two assists.
- Kyle Lake also made 12 saves between the pipes during a winning effort.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- The Falcons return to the road on Saturday, February 27 with a 1 pm EST non-conference game at Olivet.