FULLERTON, CA — The Concordia University Irvine women's lacrosse team captured its first victory of the season this past weekend, marking the first win for the squad under new head coach Michelle Mendoza.

The first whistle in CUI's game against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday blew 20 minutes past scheduled game time. The delay was due to incorrect field lines. Yet without skipping a beat after a long warm up, the Eagles ended their first away game in dominating fashion, defeating the Titans by a score of 6-3.

"I admit there was some confusion about the home team's field lines upon our arrival," said Mendoza. "In games, things we can't control like this, referees or other environmental factors can be frustrating - and we've definitely had our fair share of them so far - so I put it on the girls to excel beyond the uncontrollable. This time, excellence was demanded of them and they delivered."

The Eagles built a commanding five-point lead in the first half against the Titans. Junior midfielder Celine Rios at the draw helped CUI gain most of the game's offensive possession and led the scoring with three goals. Out of nine draw controls, the Eagles won six. Early on, defense frustrated any Titan possessions by causing three turnovers within the first five minutes of the game.

Sophomore defender Ashlin Morey, junior midfielder Tamia Shoshone and Rios contributed to the flurry. Rios put the Eagles on the board with an unassisted goal at 19:36 in the first half and CSUF took a time out immediately after an attempt to stop CUI's early momentum. Rios, unphased and unbothered, scored the next goal after two minutes nevertheless. Junior midfielder and captain Amanda Morgan devoured draw control for three draws between 16:26 and 9:00 in the first half. Off the circle, she gained three out of her six ground balls of the game.

Senior attacker and captain Sam Leyesa and newcomer Destiny Rivas scored the next two CUI goals off of free position shots. CUI possessed the ball with either sophomore keeper Yessenia Alvarez or on offense for most of the last ten minutes of the half until CSUF scored its first goal with just under two minutes to go.

"A lot of good transition started with solid one-on-one defense, saves and knockdowns on our defending end," said junior defender and captain Heather Hersh.

Transitions such as these led to CUI scoring the first two goals of the second half, one unassisted by Leyesa and another free position goal by Rios. With all the intention to continue defensive prowess in the second half, CUI's intensity increased after halftime, sometimes to an extreme.

"In the second half, I acknowledge that we fouled too often," said Mendoza, "Our team learned the hard lesson of how important defensive control is from this game."

CUI was set back by two yellow cards in the second half, which may have contributed to the two and final back-to-back goals CSUF scored in the last five minutes of the game. After the Eagles spent most of the second half possessing the ball at an easy pace or denying CSUF from successful clears, the final score was 6-3 in favor of the Eagles.

The CUI women's lacrosse team takes on the provisional team of Fullerton College on Saturday, March 2 at 11 a.m.

For the full CUI women's lacrosse schedule, click here.