IRVINE, Calif. – Nick Beeson and Matt Carresi scored four times each in the first home game of the NCAA DII era for Concordia men's lacrosse.

Hosting the Westminster Griffins from Utah, Concordia fell behind 7-4 after the first period but never gave up.  It was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener for both teams as well.

One of the highlights of the first half was a smooth feed by Concordia's Eric Obispo to a moving Chad McFadden, who then rocketed a shot into the back of the net.

Another exciting goal that wowed the crowd came in the first period when Colin O'Connor joined the attack and whipped a shot past Westminster's stunned goalie.

Down 12-8 at intermission, CUI rallied with a strong close to the third quarter by netting four of the last six goals in that period.  CUI cut the deficit to 18-14 early in the fourth, but Westminster hung on to snag the 20-15 win.

Beeson was impressive in the middle quarters and Carresi seemed to pick up steam as the game progressed.  Three of the goals scored by Carresi came in the second half, and two of his scores came when CUI was playing with a man advantage.

Starting goalie Daniel Yang made eight saves to help keep CUI in it.

A huge turnout of fans came to see Concordia's first home game as a NCAA DII program.

"You look to the sideline and there were hundreds of people here and it was a testament to what these guys have built over the past years," said CUI head coach Jesse Foss. "This is a spot where people want to come out and watch lacrosse. I'm not sure they fully realize what they've done here, and game aside, that's a huge win for the program."

"This is something we want to make a destination," added Foss, "a place that people want to come to Southern California and play."

"I thought our energy was there and we did a lot of things really well," said Beeson. "I think this is a learning experience for everyone and I think the speed of the game is just a notch higher, and to be able to meet that and play a complete game from front to back is something we are going to have to execute better."

Saturday will feature another neutral game hosted at Concordia with Dominican facing Westminster.

The Golden Eagles return to action with a rare Sunday contest this weekend against Defending RMAC champion Colorado Mesa at 1 p.m.

Ranked No. 16 in the nation, Colorado Mesa was the preseason favorite in the RMAC Coaches poll and defeated Dominican 28-5 in the first game of Friday's doubleheader on Concordia's campus.
 
Westminster was picked to finish second in the RMAC preseason poll and the Golden Eagles were projected to place third.

 "It was a very winnable game and we have to correct some mistakes but this is a three-round fight," explained Foss. "We're going to see this team again in April and then in the playoffs and we're going to show that we are continuing to get better as we go."

 "Overall, I think are heads are in the right spot and we have a quick turnaround with an opportunity to play Sunday against a really good team in Colorado Mesa," added Beeson. "The excitement is there to play them and show that despite not our best showing, we can come out and take care of business."

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