Men’s Lacrosse hangs on for home victory over Albion
Box Score: CUW 14, AC 13
Audio: Listen to the entire audio broadcast
MEQUON, Wis. - In a highly contested game throughout, it was the Concordia University Wisconsin's men's lacrosse team that hung on for a 14-13 victory over Albion College on Saturday afternoon at Fitting Field during Midwest Lacrosse Conference action.
AC scored five unanswered goals in the first half to build momentum and take an 8-4 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the second quarter. CUW responded with four-straight goals, two by Derek Brueske, to tie the game at eight-all at halftime.
From then on, it was a game of mini runs as neither team could take control. The Falcons built a 14-11 lead with 13:05 to play in regulation and held on for the home victory.
"These guys are grinders and they don't care how tough the circumstances are," head coach Jeff Roberts said. "There is not one kid in that locker room I don't trust when the chips are pushed forward. There was no doubt in my mind we were going to fight back today."
The Britons held advantages in most statistical categories, but the Falcons scored on 14 of their 19 shots on goal. AC held a 42-29 lead in ground balls and won 19 of the game's 30 faceoffs.
Brueske (freshman, Hopkins, Minn.) led CUW with four goals, while sophomore Sam Wladyka scored three goals and assisted on another. Three other Falcons scored twice and six players found the back of the net through the game.
Freshman Emmet O'Malley (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) picked up the win between the pipes after recording five saves in 35 minutes of action.
Mitch Looney led AC with four scores, and Jamie Kehoe and Stephen Treppa each assisted on two goals.
Goals were traded throughout, with Dahms finding the back of the net to give the Falcons a 4-3 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first period. The Britons then put together five-straight goals, the game's largest run, to own an 8-4 lead halfway through the second quarter.
CUW then scored four-consecutive to knot the game at 8-8 at the intermission. At the break the Falcons had cleared 13-of-16 attempts and Brueske led all scorers with three tallies.
The second half was similar to the opening half, with each team going on a short scoring run. CUW built a 14-11 lead after sophomore Peter Morton (Albany, Ga.) scored his second goal of the game with 11:24 to play in the fourth quarter.
Mitch Loney scored his fourth goal of the game 40 seconds later before the scoreboard didn't change for nine minutes.
Following a timeout, AC's Tyler Kilpatrick made things interesting and intense for CUW as its lead was cut to 14-13 with 1:22 to play. The Falcons were able to play defense ball and not allow a Briton shot to end the game.
CUW returns to action in a week, Mar. 31, with a 1 p.m. (CST) MLC contest at Trine University.
