Contact:
Adam Poklop, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Feb. 22, 2020 – The North Central College men's lacrosse team put its talented newcomers on full display in its season opener with the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons (1-1), posting a 14-8 victory at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Saturday.
Although North Central (1-0) lost both of its previous meetings with Concordia Wisconsin, the Cardinals took the field on Saturday unfazed by a matchup with a 2019 NCAA Division III Tournament qualifier team, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter as
Tommy Huizinga found
Nick Rubino found the back of the net, before
Ben Staubus added two more. The Falcons offense came to life in the second quarter, but the Cardinals matched them step-for-step aided by a pair of goals in the half's final thirty seconds to take a 8-4 lead into the break.
The Cardinals and Falcons continued to trade goals in the third quarter, with goals from Staubus,
Riley Bachinski and
Tommy Huizinga helping to protect North Central's lead, which never dipped below four points. North Central dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Concordia Wisconsin 3-1 as
Jack Moran,
Evan Lilga and
Jared Weaver got in on the scoring to put the game out of reach for good.
North Central's newcomers accounted for 12 of the team's 14 goals, as freshman Bachinski led all players with four goals and added two assists, while transfer
Ben Staubus tallied three goals and
Nick Rubino added two more.
Jacob Ray, North Central's top face-off man, had a solid showing going 18-for-26 in face offs one the day. North Central has now won each of its four season openers in program history.
The Cardinals are on the road for their next three games, starting with a non-conference matchup with Pfeiffer University on Feb. 29, set to begin at noon Eastern.
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