Men’s Lacrosse shows balance, depth in season-opening win

OLIVET, Mich. – The defense stood tall and the offense showed its depth in a season-opening 14-3 victory for Concordia Wisconsin at Olivet on Saturday afternoon at Cutler Field.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 14, Olivet 3
Location: Cutler Field (Olivet, Mich.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 1-0, Olivet 0-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Concordia Wisconsin knew its defense was going to be strong entering this season with numerous players returning and that was evident during all 60 minutes. They caused 20 turnovers and picked up 43 ground balls while holding Olivet scoreless in the first half.
- Meanwhile, the offense tallied four goals in the opening quarter and piled on seven more in the final period to show its depth, as 10 players found the back of the net.
- Senior Paul Fisher (Champlin, Minn.) led the defense with the game of his career with 11 ground balls and a program-record 11 caused turnovers. Junior Garrett Wohlford (Rochester, Minn.) earned the win in goal after making two saves.
- Junior Aidan Connolly (Grayslake, Ill.) recorded a hat trick, while junior Jack Donnellan (Grayslake, Ill.) and freshman Luke Billehus (Anoka, Minn.) each had a pair of markers. Seven of Falcons found the back of the net once during the win.
- The Falcons had advantages over the Comets in shots (57-14), ground balls (43-27), turnovers (16-31), faceoff wins (13-8) and ended with a 3-of-5 conversion rate on man-up opportunities. Connolly scored a pair of man-up goals to lead all players.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore Collin Berman (San Marcos, Calif.) and freshman Keijo Day (Esko, Minn.) each had a pair of assists, while six players had one helper.
- Billehus, Day, freshman Donovan Harper (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and freshman Taitum Priewe (Janesville, Wis.) all scored their first career goal during the contest.

THE OPPOSITION
- Justin Lamb and Casey Petersen scored two and one goal, respectively, for the Comets. A trio of players picked up five ground balls, while Jake Steele had 13 saves in goal.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin hosts John Carroll on Saturday, February 24 in the home-opener at Fitting Field at 12 pm.