For the third straight game, a slow start put the UW-Eau Claire football team behind from the get go. And for the second straight game, the Blugolds nearly came back to pull off a comeback win.

This Saturday’s version came in the rain for the Blugolds’ home opener at Carson Park, as a thwarted two-point conversion attempt with 40 seconds left on the clock was the difference maker in a 21-19 loss to Pacific Lutheran University (Wash.), ranked no. 10 in Division III.

“The encouragement was that they came out and played hard in the second half, but we’ve got to put four quarters together,” head coach Todd Glaser said.

After the Lutes, who made the flight from the state of Washington to Eau Claire for the contest, scored midway through the first quarter, they took advantage of an Eau Claire turnover by punching in another just two minutes later to make it 14-0 after one quarter of play.

But the Blugolds would respond. On a fourth down and goal play, senior and All-American running back Joel Sweeney punched in a two yard score to cut the deficit in half. It capped off a nine play, 42 yard drive with the highlight coming on a 22-yard run by Sweeney.

Pacific Lutheran tacked on another touchdown at the end of the first half to take a 21-7 lead into the halftime locker room.

Those were the last points the Blugold defense gave up. Eau Claire shutout the Lutes in the second half and forced two punts, one turnover on downs and an interception.

“I thought they did a great job of running around and making plays,” Glaser said of his defense.  “In the second half, they were reading their key and playing downhill, and that’s what we need to continue to do.”

With the defense holding Pacific Lutheran to no points, the offense was able to chip away at the margin on the scoreboard.

After senior Colton Ellis intercepted a deflected pass midway through the third quarter, it was Sweeney who once again found the endzone, this time from 10 yards out. However, the Blugolds missed the extra point, which turned out to be a vital component of the outcome.

The Blugolds set up a memorable drive to close out the game and give themselves a chance to win. The offense got the ball at their own 12-yard line with 8:31 left to play in the game, but junior quarterback Mark Munger and Sweeney led a 16 play, 88 yard drive that lasted pretty much the remainder of regulation.

Eau Claire almost saw it come to a quick end, but on a third down and long play, Munger escaped from what looked like a for sure sack and somehow scampered all the way to the one-yard line with just over a minute to play.

“Sometimes, you just have to make plays,” Munger said. “They cut off the receivers, I kind of ducked down behind my lineman and tried to to just run as far as I could get, and it ended up being a pretty big play for us.”

That set up Sweeney’s third touchdown run of the day with 40 seconds left to play, capping his day at 31 carries for 122 yards and all three touchdowns. He now has six touchdowns in three games. With the weather affecting the passing game, Sweeney was prepared to work load for the offense in the stretch run of the game.

“As soon as the rain started picking up, I knew I was going to get the rock,” Sweeney said. “I tried to take it as many times as I could.”

But it was his last run of the day that was the biggest play of the game. After his touchdown, the Blugolds had to go for two points in order to tie the game after the previously missed extra point.  The Lutes were ready for Sweeney, as they stuffed him at the line of scrimmage to put all the comeback efforts to an end.

“Just got jumbled up,” Sweeney said of the play. “There wasn’t really a lane, I had to shuffle my feet a little bit. There ended up being a guy on the ground right there to make the play. Two yards away, two yards not enough.”

The Lutes ultimately kneeled down to kill the clock after recovering an onside kick after the touchdown.

It was another loss, but Munger said it was an encouraging one and one the Blugolds can build on moving forward.

“We really came out and fought,” Munger said. “The second half, we really played well. We just have to fix the little things, and we’ll be a better football team.”

The Blugolds will take the positives from Saturday with them when they travel to UW-Platteville to take on an undefeated Pioneer squad projected to finish first in the WIAC, according to league Sports Information Directors. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Pioneer Stadium.