WAUKESHA, Wis. - Challenging early-season nonconference matchups can often serve as a good measuring stick for a hungry, determined team looking to play up to its potential.
The Carroll University men's lacrosse team experienced that firsthand as it lost to Clarke University 13-7 in a frigid showdown at Schneider Stadium on Wednesday night.
It was the second home-field loss of the young season for Carroll, which dropped to 0-2 overall following the intense battle in the extreme cold and steadily falling temperatures.
The determined effort took on added significance as it was the most goals scored by the Pioneers since March 3, 2018 (a 12-3 road victory over North Central University of Minnesota).
Carroll trailed 6-5 at the end of the hard-fought first half but struggled to maintain the momentum and was outscored by a 7-2 margin over the course of the final 30 minutes - including five unanswered goals in what proved to be a decisive third quarter.
Sophomore midfielder Michael Peters (Chicago, Ill.) finished with three goals and an assist  to lead the Pioneers, who showcased their resilience by battling back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game at the 7:43 mark of the second quarter.
"We fought hard each step of the way and that's all that matters," said Peters, who scored all of his goals in the confidence-building first half - highlighted by an aggressive, hard-lining 25-yard unassisted shot to trim the deficit to 5-3 at the 2:53 mark of the second quarter. "It's a hard loss to swallow and stings because it was a team we had a chance to beat. Unfortunately, a few passes here and there just didn't go our way when the game was close.
"There was a lot of momentum working in our favor so it was nice to be able to make the most of it and battle back to tie the game. Being early in the season, we were looking to play with a good cohesiveness and it was great to find it in the second quarter. I just tried to take advantage of the matchups, finish on the opportunities and do my best to help the team. We just couldn't keep it going in the second half.
"At this point, we're attempting to improve every time we walk on the field, make the most of the experience and take another step forward with each game."
Junior attackman Jeff Schultz (Franklin, Wis.) contributed two goals and two assists for the Pioneers, who won 13 face offs and fielded 31 ground balls.
Senior attackman Paul Kerchberger (Deer Park, Ill.) and freshman midfielder Danny McGee (Rockford, Ill.) each followed with a goal to round out the scoring for Carroll. Freshman midfielder Zack Mertens (Grayslake, Ill.) added an assist.
Freshman goalkeeper Thomas Atella (Crystal Lake, Ill.) registered 15 saves in playing the entire 60 minutes.
"It's been a tough start to the year," said Carroll head coach Brian Nowak, noting his team's mental toughness in dealing with the cold weather conditions. "We had some shining moments early on, hit a little lull until midway through the second half and then started to string some things together again. Our emotions just seemed to get the best of us at times tonight and we gradually fell apart.
"Having seven players on the roster who are new to collegiate lacrosse, we're still attempting to find our meshing point and learning to play together. We just need to continue to focus on the little things in practice, compete with some consistency and move on to the next challenge."
Senior attackman Nick Lundberg had a hat trick and four assists to lead Clarke to a season-opening road victory. Sophomore midfielder Micah Sundman, freshman attackman Andrew Bannister and freshman attackman Tucker Labelle each followed with two goals for the Pride, who outshot the Pioneers 41-23 in the contest - maintaining a 28-14 shot-on-goal advantage.