WAUKESHA, Wis. — With nearly a two week break between matches, the Carthage men's lacrosse team picked up right where they left off, remaining dominant on offense and picking up a 23-3 victory in their conference opener at Carroll on Friday night at Schneider Stadium.

Carthage (7-1, 1-0 CCIW) struck first as Andrew Johnson found William Clemens for the first score of the match. After the Pioneers (0-1, 0-1 CCIW) responded moments later to tie the game at one, goals by Connor Smith and Brad Dodds midway through the first quarter gave the Firebirds a lead they would hold the rest of the night. In the final minutes of the first period, Carthage added three more scores to take a 7-1 advantage after the first 15 minutes of play.

The Firebirds would add seven more goals in the second quarter, led off by Dodds with a quick score, before Alec Gern, Robert Dakan, and Colin Poitras found the back of the net as well. After Johnson found Clemens for a score once more, Noah Lindner closed out the half with a goal to make it 14-1 at the midway break.

In the third quarter, the visitors would outscore Carroll 4-1, before the Pioneers scored the first goal of the final quarter to make it 18-3. However, the Firebirds would connect for the final five goals to win by 20.

Carthage continues their CCIW schedule on the road next weekend, when they travel to Illinois Wesleyan for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, April 10.
 

Head Coach David Neff

"We needed to just get back on a field, it's been too long. The coaches and players at Carroll are a classy bunch and despite the challenges that COVID has presented, they are gritting it out this season. We got everyone quality minutes today and balanced scoring throughout the team. We took a little better care of the ball today too which is something we will need as we play the rest of the conference season. Next up is IWU; they are the conference favorite and play fast so we are going to need to be ready for a big one next Saturday.
 

Quick Facts

• Carthage surpassed the 20-goal mark for the second time this season, after scoring 28 on February 27 against Concordia Chicago.
• Freshman Andrew Johnson posted five assists while scoring one goal today, and leads the team with 18 assists and 41 total points.
• Noah Lindner scored two goals and added three assists today, and is one of two members of the Carthage men's lacrosse team with double digit goals and assists on the season so far.

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