ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- The Lewis University men's lacrosse team defeated Westminster University 13-12 at home on Saturday (March 8) in close match which went down to the final minutes of play. 

TEAM RECORDS
Lewis 5-1 | Westminster 1-3

LEWIS LEADERS
Goals: Paul Ruskoski (Tulsa, Oklahoma/Bishop Kelley HS) (4)
Assists: Malikye Good (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic HS) (4)
Ground Balls: Dylan Kendrick (Chanhassen, Minnesota/Chanhassen HS) (6)
Saves: Caden Donahue (Hugo, Minnesota/Mahtomedi HS) (10)

GAME SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER: Westminster 3, Lewis 2
On a sunny and cold day in Romeoville, the Griffins jumped out to an early two goal lead. Dominic Bravata (Portage, Michigan/Portage Northern HS) would cut the lead in half with a carry and an unassisted goal to make it 2-1.

With seven minutes remaining in the quarter, the Flyers would executed a double team to steal the ball with a good clear. Perfect ball movement and passing around the net for Lewis led to Paul Ruskoski (Tulsa, Oklahoma/Bishop Kelley HS) firing a shot into the back of the net from ten out to tie it at two. 

Westminster would grab another goal shortly after and the first quarter ended 3-2.

SECOND QUARTER: Lewis 3, Westminster 2
After solid defense from the Flyers and some big saves by Donahue, Lewis worked the ball the other direction on a fast break. A pass from Ruskoski to the mitt of Xan Hayes (Leonardtown, Maryland/Leonardtown HS) led to a Hayes shot to tie the game at 3. The Griffins responded with a quick goal to take the lead back again with 8:31 left in the quarter.

A minute later in game time, Luke Schroeder (Plymouth, Minnesota/Totino-Grace HS) went on a solo mission on the left side, splitting two defenders with a liner to the back of the net to tie the game once again. Ruskoski fired in a shot at the top of the key to give Lewis their first lead of the match with a score of 5-4. The Griffins scored once again tying the game at five. 
 
THIRD QUARTER: Lewis 6, Westminster 5
Schroeder started the third quarter with another goal to give Lewis the 6-5 lead. Malikye Good (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic HS) would follow right behind Schroeder with a ground ball pick up and shot into the back of the nylon. 

The Flyers lost momentum as Westminster went on a 3-0 run to tie and take the lead at 8-7. Good came up big for the Flyers with another goal with the assist from Nolan Dalep (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada/Claremont Secondary School). The Griffins struck back second later with a goal to make it 9-8. 

Kevin Blaz (McHenry, Illinois/Marian Central Catholic HS) and Ruskoski recorded back to back goals to take back the lead with 6:10 remaining with a 10-9 score. The Griffins would lace another shot into the goal to tie it once again at ten. With less than a minute remaining in the third, Shroeder would notch himself a hat trick with an another goal to make it an 11-10 game.

FOURTH QUARTER: Lewis 2, Westminster 2 
On the MAN-UP, the Flyers would slow the ball and escalate with a quick pass from Good for a tap-in by Ruskoski for his fourth goal of the game and a 12-10 Lewis lead. After a few minutes, Westminster threw another two shots into the back of the net to make it a 12-12 game. 

Good would pick up a ground ball and toss it to the left side of the net to Hayes whose spin shot found the back of the net for another Lewis goal, giving them the lead at 13-12. The Flyers would run the clock for the remainder of the game and walk away with the win. 

FINAL SCORE: Lewis 13, Tiffin 12
 
UP NEXT
Lewis will be back in action on Tuesday, March 11 as they face Northwood at Lewis Stadium starting at 2 p.m. CT.
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
Be sure to join us Wednesday, March 26, as we induct our newest inductees of the Athletics Hall of Fame at the Flyer Red Dinner at Bolingbrook Golf Club starting at 6 p.m. CT. Purchase tickets at https://lewisflyers.com/2025FlyerRedDinner
 
FLYERS ANNUAL FUND
Support the Flyers by making a gift to the Flyers Athletics Fund at https://lewisflyers.com/202425AnnualFund.