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

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 21, 2018) – Despite out-playing its opponent in nearly every statistical category, the North Central College men's lacrosse team struggled against a strong defensive performance from Centre College (4-4) on Wednesday afternoon, suffering an 8-1 loss, though not without a hard-fought battle.

North Central quickly found itself in a 3-0 hole without any shot attempts halfway through the first period. Jared Weaver and Tommy Huizinga both tried to put the Cardinals on the board but their shots were off the mark. Danny Boyle made a last minute effort to score with nine second remaining in the first period, but Colonel goalkeeper Same Long blocked the shot. Boyle scooped up his own rebound and took a second shot, but Long made the save again to keep North Central scoreless.

It appeared things could be looking up for North Central as the Cardinals held the Colonels to only one shot in the second period and trail 5-0 going into halftime. Dylan Cost came up with two saves in the third period and with the help of the Cardinals' defense forcing turnover and poor shots from the Centre offense, North Central stopped the Colonels' momentum, 6-0, with one period left to play.

Gavin Foote and Matt Sheinfeld tried to add points to the board for North Central in the final period, but Long once again made two saves to thwart North Central's attempts. But with 8:14 remaining in the game, freshman Justin Babor scored his fifth goal of the season and the Cardinals' lone goal of the contest to breathe life back into the contest. Unfortunately, Centre would score on the ensuing faceoff and win the game 8-1.

The Cardinals took 19 shots on goal out of 32 attempts, but Long's 18 saves proved troubling for North Central. Jacob Ray and Sean Tomonari both led the team with five ground balls a piece while Tomonari also shared the lead in caused turnovers with Noah Parrill and Steven Faux, all contributing two. Dylan Cost tallied seven saves for North Central.

North Central (3-4) wraps up its Spring Break trip on Friday, March 23 against Sewanee: The University of the South. Game time is set for 4 p.m. and a link to live in-game coverage can be found HERE.