Falcons advance to MLC Tournament Championship game

LISLE, Ill. – Derek Brueske and Thomas Mueller rose to the occasion on Wednesday night to help Concordia University Wisconsin to a 16-8 victory over Benedictine University in the Midwest Lacrosse Conference Tournament semifinals. The Falcons advance to Saturday's 2 pm MLC Tournament Championship game at top-seeded Aurora University.

The Falcons overcame an early 4-1 deficit in the first quarter and strung together eight-consecutive goals during a 28 minute and six second stretch from the second through fourth quarters to take over. They also continued to dominate when having an extra attacker and were 3-of-5 on man-up opportunities. What is most impressive is how CUW controlled the later stages of the second period and entire second half.

Brueske led the offensive onslaught with eight goals, having scored seven in the second half to help put the game out of reach. The midfielder personally scored as many goals as the Eagles and put on a show in each of the second and fourth quarters. He tallied a trio of scores in just under four minutes during the second quarter and had three goals in less than 10 minutes with the game getting out of hand down the stretch.

It was a complete team defensive effort for CUW, but junior Thomas Mueller (Prior Lake, Minn.) deserves applause for his career-high 15 save performance. The netminder stopped 10 shots on goal in the second half – six in the third quarter – to shut down the Eagles offense. In addition, junior Mark Wilson (Calgary, Alberta) continued to harass opponents by causing three turnovers and picking up eight ground balls. As well, the Falcons were able to overcome nine penalties for 7:30 minutes by allowing just man-up goal by Benedictine.

During the first 22 minutes and 18 seconds of the contest there were four scoring ties and four lead changes to put the scoreboard at seven goals for each team. However, the Falcons needed to repay the favor to the Eagles after being somewhat embarrassed on their home turf nearly a month ago on April 1. Benedictine overcame a 6-1 deficit at Fitting Field to win 8-7 that day. This time, CUW was able to return the favor by scoring 10 of the last 11 goals in a win-or-go-home matchup.

Brueske (senior, Hopkins, Minn.) was two points shy of the program's game record for points and a goal short of tying the game record which he set two-and-a-half weeks ago. Wilson added a career-high-tying two goals, while junior Marino Best (Naniamo, British Columbia) and sophomore Colin Raley (Inverness, Ill.) each scored twice. Seniors David Mueller (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Shawn Teixeira (Calgary, Alberta) dished out a pair of assists apiece.

Junior Danny Bundra (Lake Zurich, Ill.) finished with 16-of-26 faceoff wins and picked up six ground balls during the victory. He could have won six more ground balls if not for being whistled for violations. David Mueller recorded a career-high four ground balls, while 17 players picked up at least one ground ball for the Falcons.

CUW will make its first appearance in the MLC Tournament Championship game on Saturday at 2 pm, while top-seeded Aurora is playing for its fifth-consecutive title game. Earlier this season the Spartans defeated the Falcons 14-8 at Vago Field on April 15.