Box Score WAUKESHA, Wis. - Resilient.
That was a fitting word to describe the gritty, hard-fought performance of the Carroll University men's lacrosse team as it suffered a heart-breaking 4-3 loss to Northland College in a blustery, cold nonconference game at snow-covered Schneider Stadium on Wednesday evening.
It was the second straight home-field overtime loss for Carroll, which dropped to 1-3 overall.
Despite being forced to adjust to the strong, driving winds and brutal, bone-chilling falling temperatures as the game progressed, the Pioneers showcased their mental toughness by battling back from a two-goal second-half deficit to ultimately force the extra period.
As the game remained tied 3-3 at the end of regulation, Northland freshman midfielder Justin Roberts scored the winning goal off an assist from freshman midfielder/attackman Nick Anderson 1 minute, 11 seconds into overtime to end the neck-and-neck marathon battle.
Three of Caroll's first four games this season have been decided by a one-point margin, including a 7-6 overtime loss to Fontbonne last weekend.
For first-year head coach Brian Nowak, it has been an intriguing challenge helping his young, determined team realize its potential.
"The kids have shown their resiliency over the course of the last two games," said Nowak, who took over just prior to the start of the season and guided the Pioneers to their first victory in program history (a season-opening nail-biting 9-8 victory over University of Northwestern on Feb. 11). "Even though the weather was bad, we battled back after being down both times, forced overtime and just fell a little short. It wasn't any one person's fault and has only shown the areas that we need to work on. We continue to improve and gain confidence each time we step on the field, whether it be for practice or on game day. Now its just a matter of putting it all together and finishing another one out."
Freshman midfielder Domonic Sabbarese (Verona, Wis.) scored two unassisted goals to lead Carroll, including a dramatic, game-tying shot with 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Freshman attackman Jeff Schultz (Franklin, Wis.) had the other goal for the Pioneers, scoring on an assist by freshman midfielder Christopher Bechtel (Sammamish, Was.) with 10:48 left.
Freshman goalkeeper Abe Escrada (Sammamish, Wash.) registered 14 saves in playing the entire contest for the Pioneers, who outshot Northland 45-31 - including a momentum-building 26-11 margin in the second half.
"Neither team brought sunshine to the field today and struggled at times to deal with some of the weather conditions," Nowak added. "That said, it was exciting to see the guys showcase their mental toughness, take a lot of strong shots and attempt to grind it out. We never gave up, kept pushing and found a way to climb back in it at the end of regulation. Unfortunately, we couldn't get one more to go in."
Anderson contributed two goals for Northland, which earned its first victory of the season to improve to 1-2 overall. Senior midfielder Anthony Stempin added the other goal for the Lumberjacks, who generated four unanswered shots in overtime.
Freshman goalkeeper Luke Sandberg had 13 saves over the course of the second half to help preserve a victory.