MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College made history on Saturday, capturing an emphatic 5-2 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opening victory over rival Concordia Wisconsin at Zeitler Stadium.

With the win, the Warriors extended their best start in program history to 5-0-0 (1-0-0 NACC) and secured their first conference-opening win since 2019. The triumph also snapped a 25-match losing streak to the Falcons (2-4-0, 1-1-0 NACC), marking WLC's first head-to-head victory over CUW since 2002. Additionally, Wisconsin Lutheran's five goals marked its highest single-match scoring output against Concordia Wisconsin in the all-time series.

The Warriors wasted little time establishing control in the opening half, jumping ahead in the eighth minute when junior Morgan Bluhm (New Berlin, Wis.) found the back of the net off an assist from junior Ava Zarling (Jackson, Wis.). The duo connected again in the 21st minute as Zarling fed Bluhm for her second tally of the night to double the lead.

The roles reversed in the 29th minute when Bluhm delivered a pass to Zarling, who buried the shot to stretch the margin to 3-0. The Falcons answered just before the intermission when Christine Long scored in the 45th minute, sending the teams into the break at 3-1.

Zarling struck again early in the second half, netting an unassisted goal in the 54th minute to push WLC's advantage to 4-1. CUW trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the 63rd minute on a goal by Koffy'e Chappel, but Wisconsin Lutheran sealed the milestone win in the 69th minute when junior Ginny Shade (Thornton, Colo.) converted a penalty kick following a Concordia Wisconsin foul in the box.

Wisconsin Lutheran outshot the Falcons 22-14 overall, including a 16-6 advantage in shots on goal. Zarling led all players with a match-high seven shots (five on target), while Bluhm followed with five shots (all five on goal). Jacey Read paced CUW's offense with a team-high four shots (two on goal).

In goal, junior Sam Schroeder (Brookfield, Wis.) went the full 90 minutes for the Warriors, recording four saves to earn the victory. For Concordia Wisconsin, starting goalkeeper Kara Claussner stopped four shots while allowing three goals in the first half, and Aubrey Johnson tallied seven saves with two goals allowed in the second half.

WLC returns to action Wednesday when it travels to De Pere to face St. Norbert (2-5-1, 1-1-0 NACC) in a 7 p.m. NACC matchup.