Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

AURORA, Ill. (Feb. 28, 2018) – The North Central College men's lacrosse team expected a challenging matchup against six-time Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) champion Aurora University (2-0), and despite best efforts, the young Cardinal squad could not hold off the Spartans for a win, suffering a heart-breaking 11-8 loss on Wednesday.

The Cardinals got on the board early with a goal from Tommy Huizinga off of an assist from Noah Parrill at 12:27. The Spartans tried to answer back, but Gavin Hardersen's shot ricocheted off the post, leading to a ground ball for Sean Tomonari to set up North Central for another chance on offense. John Fitzgerald took the opportunity to score and put the ball in the back of the net and North Central ahead 2-0. Aurora challenged the Cardinal's momentum with a goal at 7:52 in the first period but Tanner James would score with just over a minute remaining to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead going into the second period.

The Spartans quickly gained control of the ball and tied the game at 3-3 at 13:08. Knowing his team needed the ball back, Jacob Ray won the face-off to give the defense a break and look for a scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, shots from James, Tomanari, and Parrill were just off the mark and Aurora took the ball back to their offensive end, ultimately converting the possession into a goal and taking the lead, 4-3. The Spartans would send North Central into halftime with a two goal deficit following a goal from Joey Lucchessi and extending the lead, 5-3.
The third period would play in the favor of Aurora as the Cardinals suffered two slashing penalties, one of which resulted in a Spartan man-up goal, and only two shot attempts. North Central had a lot of ground to make up in the final period, trailing 10-3 with only 15 minutes left in regulation.

The Spartans won the opening faceoff to start the fourth period, but Brandon Pearl caused Aurora's Harrison Canaday to bobble the ball and give North Central some time to work on the offensive end. A goal from Nick Pardo at 11:19 breathed some life into the Cardinals and helped lead to a goal from James to cut Aurora's lead 10-5. Parrill tried to tack on another point to the Cardinals' score, but a save from goalkeeper Tyler Lombardi and a successful clear attempt resulted in another goal for the Spartans with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation. Jared Weaver, James, and Huizinga would each score once more in the final three minutes, but it would not be enough for the win as Aurora handed North Central its first loss of the season, 11-8.

James paced the Cardinals' offense with three goals while Huizinga had two and Pardo, Fizgerald, and Weaver each had one. Parrill and Gavin Foote each contributed an assist while Steven Fauz led the team with three caused turnovers and Ray and goalkeeper Dylan Cost each scooped five ground balls.

Cost was also a force between the posts, stopping 17 Spartan shots and helping the team achieve 19 successful clears on 26 attempts.
North Central (2-1) hosts Northland College on Thursday, March 8 at 4 p.m. A link to live in-game coverage can be found HERE.