Falcons Outlast Sabres in Offensive Showdown

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW men's lacrosse team was victorious in their second-straight one-goal matchup against the Sabres of Marian on Tuesday afternoon.

Junior Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.) got the ball rolling for the flock with an unassisted goal just 29 seconds into the matchup.

Marian went on to score the next four goals to take the 4-1 advantage.

With the Sabre goalie out of position, senior Evan Leden (Waukegan, Ill.) launched the ball downfield and found the back of the net for the rare goalie goal. This came at the 5:15 mark of the first quarter.

The Sabres netted back-to-back goals to extend their lead to four at 6-2.

Sophomore Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.) ended the first quarter with a goal off an assist from fellow sophomore Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.).

Nowotarski and Esposito opened the second quarter with one goal each to cut the lead to one at 6-5.

Marian scored back-to-back goals once again to push their lead back out to three.

Senior Jack Gromosky (Danville, Ind.) found the back of the net off an assist from freshman Jason Michalski (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and Esposito found Nowotarski to cut the lead back to one.

Marian scored with just over two minutes left in the half to take a 9-7 lead.

Nowotarski sent a heave at the goal with time clicking down and beat the buzzer for the eighth Falcon goal of the game with one second remaining.

The teams went into the break with a Marian 9-8 lead.

The Sabres came out with a pair of goals including a man-up goal to take the 11-8 lead.

The Falcons finished the quarter on a seven-goal run to take the 15-11 lead heading into the final frame. 

In that run, Gromosky scored two goals, Nowotarski scored two goals, Esposito notched one goal and two assists, Ruger netted a goal, Michalski sunk a man-up goal, and sophomore Chase Drexler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) recorded an assist.

Ruger pushed the Falcon lead to five to open the fourth quarter with an assist from Esposito to give the Birds the 16-11 lead.

Marian scored two to crawl back within three.

Esposito and sophomore Griffin Bahr (Grand Rapids, Minn.) slotted back-to-back goals to give the Falcons their 17th and 18th goals of the game.

Marian worked to make a comeback and sunk their 17th goal of the game with 39 seconds remaining, but the Falcons came away with the one-goal victory.

Esposito led the way for the Falcons with four goals and four assists. Nowotarski had another five-goal game to match his last game.

Leden made 11 saves.

The Falcons are back in action Saturday at Concordia Chicago.