WAUKESHA, Wis. -  Airik Ranjo's relentless effort took the spotlight.
Ranjo, a 5-foot-7, 200-pound sophomore attackman from San Diego, Calif., finished with a season-high four goals and an assist as the Carroll University men's lacrosse team lost to Northland College 13-10 in a hard-fought nonconference game at Schneider Stadium on Friday afternoon.
It was the fourth home-field loss for Carroll, which dropped to 0-5 overall.
The contest was tied 7-7 at halftime but the Pioneers were outscored 6-3 over the course of the final 30 minutes, including what became a decisive 4-1 margin in the third quarter.
"It was definitely one of my best games of the season so far," said Ranjo, of the breakthrough individual performance. "Over the course of the last four games, I had been in a slump so it was great to be able to break out of it in a big way, come out firing and finish on the opportunities. Throughout the game, I just kept pushing the ball and attempted to keep the offense moving."
Ranjo was a reliable force over the course of the opening 30 minutes, scoring two momentum-building goals - highlighted by an aggressive, hard-lining shot off an assist from senior attackman Paul Kerchberger (Deer Park, Ill.) to claim a 7-6 lead at the 11:24 mark of the second quarter.
The momentum was short lived as Northland answered to tie the game with 1:37 remaining in the first half.
"It was even at halftime but unfortunately we lost it a little during the third quarter," Ranjo said. "At that point, we tried to get back in it with some fourth-quarter goals but it was just a little too late. Even though it wasn't the outcome we wanted, this effort will act as a good confidence booster as we move forward. I'm just hoping we can keep it rolling and come away with some positive outcomes as we move forward. Looking back on the game, I'm super proud of the progress we made and what we accomplished today. We just need to keep our heads up, stay positive and carry it over into the games to come."
Junior attackman Jeff Schultz (Franklin, Wis.) registered a hat trick for Carroll, which generated a season-high goal total with the performance including five in the second quarter. Kerchberger, sophomore midfielder Michael Peters (Chicago, Ill.) and freshman midfielder Zack Mertens (Grayslake, Ill.) each followed with one goal. Peters, junior midfielder Christopher Bechtel (Sammamish, Wash.) and sophomore attackman Dylan Steichen (Bartlett, Ill.) each added an assist.
It was the most goals scored by the Pioneers since March 3, 2018 (a 12-3 nonconference road victory over North Central University of Minnesota).
Freshman goalkeeper Thomas Atella (Crystal Lake, Ill.) registered 16 saves in playing the entire 60 minutes for the Pioneers, who were outshot 57-36 in the contest, including a 29-21 shot-on-goal margin.
"We competed with maximum effort on both sides and played our most complete game but it just didn't roll our way today," said Carroll head coach Brian Nowak, whose team was playing the first of five games in a challenging 10-day stretch. "At this point, we just need to play with confidence and continue to shoot the ball well because we have the potential and ability to score. Hopefully, we can keep making strides and put it all together as we move forward."
Junior midfielder Tron Trondson and freshman attackman Doug Keiser each scored three goals for Northland, which improved to 2-1 overall.