Dominating defense leads Men's Lacrosse past Elmhurst

MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin's defense went into lockdown mode in the second half on Wednesday afternoon and earned a 9-2 victory over Elmhurst College during Midwest Lacrosse Conference play.

CUW took control early and led 7-2 at halftime before its defense shut down the Blue Jays in the second half at Fitting Field. It didn't feel like the Falcons' defense was dominating, but the statistics proved otherwise during the sub-40 degree mid-April contest. They shutout EC in the second half and allowed just one shot on goal in 30 minutes of play. The Blue Jays didn't win a faceoff and turned the ball over 13 times over the final two quarters.

On the offensive side of the field, CUW wasn't as explosive as it normally is, but held a 32-18 shot advantage and 12-of-15 faceoff wins were enough to win its six-consecutive at home. In all, nine different players scored in the victory.

The Falcons scored a trio of goals in the first five minutes and 18 seconds before surrendering their first goal of the game, the Blue Jays only man-up tally. CUW followed with back-to-back goals in the first three minutes of the second quarter before giving up another marker. Another two scores push their lead to five goals at the intermission.

Freshman Colin Raley (Inverness, Ill.) recorded the Falcons only man-up score of the game in the third period and senior Danny Dahms (Calgary, Alberta) had the final goal of the game with just over a minute to play.

Sophomore Matt Garvey (Winnipeg, Manitoba) led all players with three points (goal, two assists), while three others had a goal and assist. Sophomore Danny Bundra (Lake Zurich, Ill.) won 12-of-15 faceoffs and picked up a game-high-tying nine ground balls. Junior Christopher Grenz (Centennial, Colo.) finished with three caused turnovers, while freshman Benjamin Smith (Round Lake Beach, Ill.) had a career-best four ground balls.

CUW forced 19 turnovers, of which 12 were caused. Sophomore Mark Wilson (Calgary, Alberta) caused a career-high-tying three turnovers. Sophomore Thomas Mueller (Prior Lake, Minn.) earned another win between the pipes after making four saves and picking up a career-best four ground balls.

Jackson Mandli and Drew Wassenaar each scored for the Blue Jays (5-8, 3-4 MLC). Tyler York made nine saves and picked up a game-high-tying nine ground balls.

CUW finishes its season-long three-game homestand on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Benedictine University.