RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls held on after scoring six goals in the first half to defeat Concordia 7-5 in Mequon, Wis. on Saturday afternoon.  It was the team's first win in program history, and Gina Jablonski scored her second hat trick of the season to lead the Falcons to the win in freezing conditions at Fitting Field.

The Falcons got on the board first when Jablonski found Lexy Meinert for her first goal of the season less than five minutes into the game. Lauren Paquin won the ensuing draw control for Concordia and equalized only 18 seconds later, scoring her first of three goals on Saturday. Jablonski scored on a free position shot in the following minute, and she added her second goal of the half with 16 minutes remaining to make it 3-1.

Paquin scored again to cut the lead to one goal, but the Falcons scored three goals in a five-minute stretch near the end of the half to take a 6-2 lead into halftime. Emma Kohlbeck scored her first two goals of the season, and Cassandra Hubble scored her first career goal as the Falcons fired 16 shots in the first half. Concordia won six of the nine draw controls in the first half and had a narrow 12-10 advantage on ground ball pickups, but they committed almost twice as many fouls as the Falcons with 13. This allowed UWRF to take six free position shots in the first half, scoring on two of them.

The game slowed down for the Falcons in the second half as they tried to preserve their lead, but Megan McPike scored after only a minute of play to make it 6-3. Kristen Kennedy trimmed the lead to two with 23 minutes remaining, and the Falcons were forced to call a timeout and regroup. They responded by holding Concordia without a goal for the following ten minutes before Jablonski finished her hat trick to give a little bit of breathing room at 7-4. Paquin completed her own hat trick a minute later to make it 7-5, but neither team was able to score for the remainder of the game as the Falcons held possession for long stretches before picking up the victory.

Concordia had a 28-25 advantage in total shots, but Grace Ross was impressive in goal for UWRF by making 11 saves in her debut between the pipes. The Falcons are back in action tomorrow when they take on Elmhurst College at 1 p.m.