March 30, 2016 - The first half of Concordia-Chicago's initial season of men's lacrosse has featured many tough lessons for head coach Drew Stevenson's young squad. But the Cougars' first validation for all of their efforts came this afternoon in Waukesha, WI as Cal Crawford (Stillwater, MN/Cretin-Derham Hall) scored five goals in leading a 10-6 victory overt the Pioneers of Carroll College.

"Our players are very happy, and I'm very happy for them," said Stevenson. "We're thrilled to get the monkey off our back, and no doubt that this is a real confidence builder for the rest of the season."

The Pioneers notched the first goal of the game just two minutes in, but their only lead of the game did not last long. From behind the net, Kyle Stock (Orland Park, IL/Sandburg) found Crawford in front, and Crawford struck from point-blank range for the even-up goal. 

With 2:08 remaining in the first quarter, Crawford scored his second of the game to give the Cougars the lead. The Cougars then won the faceoff and came downfield. This time, it was Jordan Loeffler (Orland Hills, IL/Sandburg) firing past the Carroll goalie. The two goals took a mere seven seconds, and the Cougars led 3-1 at the end of one quarter.

The Cougars' lead increased to three early in the second as Crawford set up Adam Ortiz (Chicago, IL/Mount Carmel). The Cougars' momentum held steady despite being momentarily interrupted with the Pioneers receiving their first man-up opportunity of the game and scoring at the end of it to get back to within two. However, Crawford answered minutes later with a low laser beam of a shot through traffic. His third goal of the game and fourth point restored the Cougars' lead to three at 5-2. Loeffler scored a man-up to extend the lead to four before the Pioneers scored in the final 23 seconds to make the halfime score Concordia-Chicago 6, Carroll 3.

Concordia-Chicago did not let the 10-minute break rob them of momentum. It took just 40 seconds into the third for Stock to score off a scrum in front of the net for a four-goal edge. Carroll came back to apply some pressure in the offensive end, and that pressure eventually resulted in a goal. The Pioneers continued to press, but Cougar goalie Noah Bachofen (Franklin, WI/H.S.) stood firm in net to keep the home team from getting closer. The Cougars weathered the storm and got goals late in the quarter from Crawford (his fourth) and Ortiz (his second) to put the lead at 9-4 entering the final 15 minutes.

Cool, calm and collected were the key words for the Cougars in the fourth quarter. The Pioneers scored two goals, the second with 2:34 remaining to get within 9-6. but the Cougars would not be flustered. Finally, Crawford netted his fifth of the match with 39 seconds left to seal the deal. Moments later, the horn would sound for CUC's first-ever victory in men's lacrosse.

"I liked the way we finished defensively," said Stevenson. "Two of the big plays in the fourth, I thought, were from Chris Auger (Bad Axe, MI/H.S.), a walk-on who was the last player to join us this fall. He set up a couple of big clears and helped keep us settled in the back."

The Cougars will return home on Saturday to face Augustana College in a non-conference match. Start time is set for 1:00.