Falcons Notch Another Victory

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW men's lacrosse team finished up their first back-to-back with an 18-8 victory over the Hanover Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue and White improved to 10-3 on the season with three regular-season contests remaining.

The Falcons opened the matchup with a goal from sophomore Max Esposito (Gaithersburg, Md.) just 58 seconds into the matchup showing there was no tiredness from their game yesterday. 

Sophomore Gio Nowotarski (Reading, Pa.) netted the second Falcon goal off an assist from senior Jack Gromosky (Danville, Ind.).

Hanover found the back of the net with 10:40 remaining for their first goal of the game.

The Blue and White responded with six straight goals to end the quarter and 11 straight goals to end the half.

Freshman Jason Michalski (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) was assisted by sophomore Griffin Bahr (Grand Rapids, Mich.) to open the scoring barrage. The next four Falcon goals saw junior Caleb Ruger (Grafton, Wis.), Nowotarski, Bahr, and sophomore Pat Ryan (Western Springs, Ill.). Esposito assisted on two of the four and Ruger assisted on a third. 

With 31 seconds remaining in the half, Nowotarski sent a laser on cage and netted hit hat-trick goal to give the Falcons an 8-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

It was the Esposito show in the second quarter with Max Esposito putting on an offensive clinic with the first four of five goals. His last two came just eight seconds apart. Michalski assisted the first, Nowotarski assisted the second, and Ruger assisted the third and fourth. Nowotarski went on to score his own goal for the final goal of the second quarter. He once again ended a quarter with a bang with 30 seconds left on the clock when he buried a feed from Michalski.

The Falcons held a 13-1 lead into the break.

Nowotarski opened the third quarter with the 12th-straight Falcon goal off an assist from Caleb Ruger just 30 seconds into the frame.  

The Panthers found the back of the net for the first time since the first quarter 1:52 into the third.

Pat Ryan sunk the 15th Falcon goal with 3:04 left in the frame.

Hanover scored back-to-back goals to cut the Falcon lead to 15-4.

Nowotarski had a knack for last-minute goals with another goal just 17 seconds away from the end of the quarter to give the Falcons the 16-4 lead heading into the final frame.

Hanover outscored the Falcons 4-2 in the final quarter of play, but it was no match for the 12-goal Falcon run in the first half.

Freshman Alex Busateri (Oak Creek, Wis.) scored his third goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Chase Drexler (Vernon Hills, Ill.).

Sophomore Hunter Swazey (Escondido, Calif.) put a cap on the Falcon scoring with the 18th goal off an assist from Drexler. This was Swazey's first goal since a hat trick against Monmouth.

The Falcons set their sites on Aurora on Saturday when they take on the preseason favorite to take the NACC crown.