MEQUON, Wis. --- Starting off Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play with a bang, the Concordia University Chicago women's lacrosse team defeated the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons by an 11-5 final score on Wednesday afternoon. The game was tied heading into the fourth, but CUC was able to outscore the Falcons 6-0 in the quarter for the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-         Elizabeth Cyrwus, Emily Cyrwus, and Rylee Orenstein all recorded three goals in the contest.
-         Jessica Parker and Nina Naes each recorded a goal in the fourth quarter.
-         Ryan McGee made eight total saves in the win.
-         CUC outscored CUW 6-0 in the fourth quarter.

After both sides were unable to find the back of the net early in the first, CUC broke through with 8:46 remaining in the opening quarter. The Cougars worked the ball forward and Em. Cyrwus passed the ball to El. Cyrwus for the opening goal of the contest.

Both offenses struggled to get going throughout the rest of the quarter. The Cougars were finally able to double their lead early in the second. Em. Cyrwus earned a free position attempt and made the most of it for her second goal of the game. After CUW got one back, Naes finished off a pass from Paige Palermo to extend the CUC lead to 3-1 before the half.

CUW came out to the halftime break strong, scoring the first two goals of the third to pull even at three. The Cougars answered with two goals of their own, with Em. Cyrwus and Orenstein finding the back of the net. The Falcons had the answer one more time, closing out the third quarter with two goals of their own to tie the match at five after three-quarters of play.

Concordia Chicago owned the fourth quarter. El. Cyrwus got CUC up for good just under four minutes into the fourth, netting two free position goals in 38 seconds. The Cougars then extended the lead to 9-5 when Parker and Orenstein netted goals. Orenstein netted one final goal with 5:52 to go as CUC ran away with the 11-5 victory to open NACC play.

The Cougars will look to jump out to a 2-0 start in conference play when they head to Marian University on Saturday afternoon. Opening draw is set for 3:00 pm from Fond du Lac. You can find links to coverage at cucougars.com/coverage.