Contact: Matthew Eaker, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, mreaker@noctrl.edu 

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (May 11, 2022) - Playing in the NCAA Tournament first time in their young history as a program, the North Central College men's lacrosse team found success early but would watch the game slip away from them as they fell 11-3 to the John Carroll University Blue Streaks in University Heights, Ohio this afternoon. 

The Cardinals (9-7) were looking to come out hot in their first game of the NCAA Tournament to shake away to nerves and Nick Rubino got the Cardinals out infront early as he scored off an assist from Jack Moran with 13:11 left in the first quarter of play. Both offenses were at a standstill until the Blue Streaks (16-2) knotted the game up with one second remaining and the teams would head to the second quarter tied at one. The second quarter started off as a defensive battle but the Blue Streaks would find the back of the net midway through the quarter to put them up 2-1 with 7:42 to play. The Blue Streaks would add to their lead as they scored two back-to-back goals to put them up 4-1 with 3:18 remaining. The Cardinal defense would step up and shut down the Blue Streaks opportunities late in the quarter to head into halftime down three. 

The Cardinals came out of half ready to attack as Moran got the Cardinals back on the board and cut the Blue Streaks lead to two with 13:41 left in the third quarter. The Cardinal offense would keep rolling as Luke Illgen would fire one past Jon Gaglio to bring the Cardinals within one. The Cardinals were looking to tie the game at four as Dylan Mlinarich forced a turnover and sprinted down the field on a fast break opportunity but Tom Eberhardt's shot was handled by Gaglio. The Blue Streaks would jump out in front by two as Berdysiak scored his second goal of the game to put John Carroll up 5-3 with 5:11 remaining in the third quarter. After a Cardinal penalty, the Blue Streaks would add to their lead as Brendan Whitty would find Jared Gorenflo on the doorstep to put them up 6-3 with three minutes remaining. The Blue Streaks would end the quarter with another goal, putting them up 7-3 heading into the final quarter of play. 

The fourth quarter was at a standstill but with just under nine minutes to play in the quarter, Whitty put one past Aidan Murphy to extend their lead five. The Blue Streaks would tally two more goals to extend their lead to 10-3 with 3:37 left in the game and would put the game away as Morgan Morrell would put one past Murphy, giving the Blue Streaks a 11-3 win. 

Rubino, Moran and Illgen each had a goal while Mlinarich had a team high three caused turnovers and picking up three ground balls. Murphy tallied 11 saves as he fell to 5-2 on the season. The Cardinals finished their season with a 9-8 record while claiming their first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament Championship and making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

"I'm so proud of the team, this is our first experience in the NCAA Tournament and for us to come out of the gate competitive is a huge step for our program. It's never fun to lose a big game and we know we've got to get better at some things  to compete at this level, but when we look back at the entire season, it's hard not to be proud of the journey this team has taken, and how they've grown as young men " said head coach Jay Farrell in the post game press conference. 

Graduate student Steven Dale played in his 77th career game in six seasons for the Cardinals and when asked about his time at North Central and what this program meant to him he said "we have been talking about this moment since we stepped on campus as freshman in 2017. This has been the greatest experience of my life, I have made so many friends during my time here and that will stick with me for the rest of my life." 

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