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

ELMHURST, Ill. (Apr. 21, 2018) – Despite a strong start and fourth-quarter rally that spoke volumes to the team's resilience and growth, the North Central College men's lacrosse team fell at the hands of the Elmhurst College Bluejays (12-2, 4-1 CCIW) on Saturday at Langhorst field.

Elmhurst wasted no time getting on the board after forcing the Cardinals to turn the ball over early. A goal from Andrew Frerich off of an assist from Cullen Nordemann gave Elmhurst a short-lived lead until Jacob Ray took the ball to goal after winning the faceoff to knot the score 1-1 twenty seconds later. The Cardinals took their first and only lead of the day following a goal from Tommy Huizinga at 11:43 in the first period, but the Bluejays would tie it back up ten seconds later with a goal from Mac Harden.

The score remained tied for nearly twenty minutes as both teams' defense made it challenging to find the back of the net. The Bluejays were able to break the silence with 4:44 remaining until halftime, scoring five straight goals and pulling ahead 7-2. Another win at the faceoff from Ray and plenty of open space to run with 1:17 remaining in the first half helped the freshman score his second goal of the game and keep the Cardinals in the game.

Coming out of the locker room, the Bluejays scored five goals in the third period and limited North Central to a long goal from Huizinga to maintain a comfortable 12-4 lead going into the final period. Elmhurst opened the final 15 minutes of play with a four-goal run, but the Cardinals responded with a four-goal run late in the period, including two from Danny Boyle. The Bluejays were able to thwart any last minute opportunities for the Cardinals to hold on for a 16-8 win.

Boyle, Ray, and Huizinga each scored two goals for the Cardinals and Ray had a team-high nine ground balls. John Fitzgerald was a force on the defensive end with eight ground balls and a team-high three caused turnovers.

In goal, Dylan Cost came up with nine crucial saves.

North Central (5-9, 1-3 CCIW) hosts CCIW rival University of Dubuque on Wednesday, Apr. 25 at 7 p.m. A link to live in-game coverage can be found HERE and the game will also be broadcasted live at nctv17.com.