Contact: Elliott Carr, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-530
 
Box Score

Naperville, Ill. (April. 1, 2017) – In their final game prior to commencing College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play, the North Central College men's lacrosse team gained momentum as they toppled Northland College 13-9, at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Tommy Huizinga got the Cardinals off on the right foot, scoring their opening goal just 52 seconds into the game. Unfortunately, Northland responded by going on a 3-0 run, and forcing the Cardinals to overcome an early deficit.

North Central responded by executing head coach Jay Farrell's game plan to perfection, as they then proceeded to go on a 6-0 run. Huizinga found sophomore Tanner James in scoring position with 4:15 on the clock, while Huizinga went on to score again with 2:29 left in the quarter. North Central concluded the period with another goal from James, seeing them conclude the first quarter with a 4-3 lead.

The Cardinals opened the second quarter with goals to freshman Brock Haake (12:38),  freshman Noah Parrill (9:15) and James (8:13), giving them a 7-3 advantage. The Lumberjacks added a final goal before halftime, but North Central still held the lead 7-4.

Despite Northland scoring the opening goal, the third quarter very much belonged to North Central. Following the Lumberjacks opening goal, the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run, included two more goals to Huizinga, who had been impossible for Northland to contain all afternoon. While the Lumberjacks added another goal prior to the end of the quarter, the Cardinals held a 6-12 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Northland would score three goals in the final period, but freshman Jared Weaver's goal with 4:43 remaining was enough to ensure North Central prevailed.

Huizinga and James led the Cardinals with four and three goals respectively, while Parrill led the team in assists, dishing out three on the afternoon. Freshman Nick Pardo was also highly influential, collecting a team-high six ground balls, and going 14/23 in face off situations.

Freshman Sean Tomonari, along with Parrill, wreaked havoc on the defensive end, causing three turnovers apiece, while freshman goalkeeper Dylan Cost came up with five saves.
 
The Cardinals will have ample time to rest and recover, prior to opening CCIW play on April 12 when they travel to Dubuque, Iowa, taking on the University of Dubuque at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video can be found here.