A common notion is that "defense wins championships." On an unusually warm Saturday, defense played a key role in the home opener for John Carroll men's lacrosse. 

Kyle Lake notched 12 saves, including a critical one in the final seconds as JCU defeated Concordia, 6-5, at Don Shula Stadium. 

The Blue Streaks (1-1) earn their first win under head coach Chris Cooper, while the Falcons drop to 0-1. 

The key save by Lake came in the final seconds as Concordia was trying to level the game at 6. A shot by Marino Best was nabbed by the junior with three seconds left to clinch the home victory. 

RP Whitty delivered for the Blue Streaks, firing a hat trick along with one assist. 

Declan O'Grady started off the contest with a goal ninety seconds in off a Collin Rice assist. JCU would roar out to a 4-0 lead in the first period following scores by O'Grady, RP Whitty and Dominic Starvaggi. 

Concordia closed the period with a goal with 23 seconds remaining. Zachary Foster's goal kicked things off for the visitors, as Concordia's defense held strong and the Falcons would go on to score the lone goal in the second period. 

Whitty scored his second goal less than a minute and a half into the third period, and answered a Colin Raley goal with his own score at 5:48, stunting the Falcons momentum after just 66 seconds. 

Two fourth quarter goals by Matt Garvey and Raley pushed JCU to the brink, but late defense sealed the deal for the Blue Streaks. Raley led the Falcons with two goals on six shots. 

John Carroll outshot the Falcons, 33-25, and forced 20 Concordia turnovers. They won the ground ball battle with 25 to Concordia's 14 and won 10-of-15 faceoffs. 

JCU is back in action next Saturday on the road against The College of Wooster at 1:00 p.m.