No. 9 CUI Lacrosse Tops USC in Playoff Opener
Ben Rosehart
IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 9 Concordia University Irvine men's lacrosse team won its first Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC) playoff game under head coach
Jesse Foss on Saturday, defeating USC 15-9 behind a balanced offensive attack.
Tanner Jones scored six times and
Brandon Mayo handed out five assists and scored once to lead the CUI offense.
"We just worked our offense and moved the ball really well," said
Jackson Lienhart, who added two goals and an assist. "We played well as a team and kept the energy and effort high throughout and came out with a great result."
The Eagles jumped out to a 6-2 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back. The Eagles took control of the contest in the second quarter when Mayo assisted on back-to-back goals. Jones tallied one of his goals as the shot clock was about to expire to help build an 8-4 CUI advantage.
Then with just under three minutes remaining before intermission, CUI senior
Cade Christensen provided an unexpected boost to the offense when he forced a USC turnover and raced down the left sideline unimpeded. Christensen decided to keep going straight to the goal and caught the defense off guard by snapping the ball into the net for an unassisted tally.Â
CUI led 10-5 at halftime and also outscored the Trojans 5-4 in the second half.
"I think we're playing a lot more confident now than when we started the season," added Lienhart. "We have some momentum going and we're on a three-game win streak so we're feeling pretty good."
CUI goalie
Tyler Schweikert was solid in net against the Trojans and collected ten saves.
The Green and Gold advanced to the SLC semifinals with the victory. No. 9 CUI will play No. 4 Arizona State on Friday, April 26 at 4 p.m. at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif.
For the full CUI men's lacrosse schedule, click here.
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