Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Results

Apr. 26, 2021 - A fast start helped propel the North Central College men's lacrosse team to a key College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) victory Wednesday at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, as the Cardinals defeated Carthage College, 10-8, to claim their first victory over the Firebirds in the fourth meeting of their young rivalry.

North Central (9-1, 3-1 CCIW) moves into second place in the conference standings with two games left in the regular season. 

After yielding the game's opening goal, the Cardinals quickly found their rhythm and netted six goals in just over six minutes. Tom Eberhart and Riley Bachinski each scored twice in the rally, while Nick Rubino and Scott Allgood scored once. Jacob Ray was pivotal in helping North Central dominate possession in the first quarter, winning eight consecutive faceoffs. Carthage (9-3, 3-2 CCIW) switched to a zone defense in the second period and was able to keep the hosts scoreless the rest of the half, closing the gap to 6-3 by halftime.

Patrick Fransen opened the second-half scoring for North Central, and Bachinski and Rubino each scored again as the lead grew to 9-4. Allgood capped the Cardinals' scoring with 10:09 left in the game with a behind-the-back goal off an assist from Luke Illgen. (Click HERE to view the replay of Allgood's goal) The North Central defense stalled the Firebirds' comeback effort late in the contest, not permitting a shot on goal in the final 2:20.

Bachinski finished with a game-high three goals, while Illgen and Rubino each recorded two assists. Ray and Steven Faux each claimed six ground balls and goalkeeper Jake Allgood saved 11 shots on goal. Colin Poitras and Brad Dodds were Carthage's top scorers with two goals each.

North Central travels to face Augustana College (6-5, 2-3) on Wednesday. Play at Thorson-Lucken Field in Rock Island is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. Click HERE for live coverage options.