The weekend split curse lifted for the UW-Platteville lacrosse club after two crucial wins in River Falls on Saturday, April 10. The Pioneers defeated newcomers University of North Dakota 8-2 followed by an overtime 7-6 win over Gustavus Adolfus.

Photograph by Jessica Vretenar


Senior Jake Carlson attacks UW-River Falls offense on April 3.

UW-P took a strong lead from the start of the game and kept the momentum running throughout the first half, Eric Miller, sophomore midfielder, said.

Goalie Jordan Hass held a shut-out against North Dakota while in goal for the first half of the game. Tim Luebke let two quick goals in from the Fighting Sioux. The defense stepped up in the second half and kept control of the ball.

“We won because we played as a team and not as individuals; each goal was assisted by another player,” coach Matthew Mikulecky, senior, said.

The team kept their heads for the second game and started off with the first goal of the game. Holding the game for the first three quarters, UW-P found themselves on the defense, giving up a few goals, in the fourth quarter.

At the end of the game, the refs recorded a score different than the scorekeepers. Although they had UW-P winning, the Pioneers made the decision to go into overtime.

“They called me and the other coach together. I knew our team did not want to win because of an error,” Mikulecky said. “I agreed to a five minute sudden death overtime.”

UW-P won the initial face-off to take control of the game.

“Our defense was ready for the challenge and I had faith in my teammates to finish the game quickly,” Mikulecky said. “About a minute into overtime, Gustavus committed a foul and we were a man-up [a power play] for one minute.”

Miller substituted in for the power play and scored the game winning goal off a pass from Mikulecky.

“These wins were extremely vital, now we are 4-2 and have a very good shot at getting into the A-Bracket at the end-of-the-year tournament,” Miller said.

The top two teams of the West Division automatically enter the A-Bracket. UW-P is third behind UW-L and Gustavus. UW-L is 6-0 while Gustavus is tied with the Pioneers at 4-2.

UW-P improved to 4-2 after two more wins, and will travel to UW-La Crosse on April 18 for the final two season games before the Great Lakes Lacrosse League Tournament on April 24-25. The Pioneers will take on Winona State University and St. Mary’s University.