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

KENOSHA, Wis. (May 6, 2022) - An offensive explosion in the second half pushed the North Central men's lacrosse team past the Carthage College Firebirds 18-14 to send them to their second consecutive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship.

The Cardinals (8-7, 3-3 CCIW) found themselves down early as the Firebirds (12-5, 5-1 CCIW) struck first but Nick Rubino would tie the game up at one off an assist from Jack Moran. Just one minute later, Moran would put the Cardinals up by one before Tom Eberhardt would tally another goal for the Cardinals, putting them up 3-1 with eight minutes to play in the first quarter. The Firebirds would respond and go on a three goal stretch to put them up by one but the Cardinals would answer as Luke Illgen and Moran would score to put the Cardinals up 5-4. With just 18 seconds left in the first quarter of play, the Firebirds would tie the game up and they would head into the second quarter tied at five. 

The Cardinals came out of the second quarter firing as Rubino and Eberhardt tallied two quick goals to give the Cardinals a 7-5 advantage. However, the Firebirds would respond with two goals of their own to tie the game up at seven. The second quarter was at a standstill until the Firebirds scored with 23 seconds remaining, putting them up 8-7 heading into halftime.  

The Cardinals came out ready to attack in the second half as Eberhardt tallied another goal for the Cardinals to tie the game at eight before Rubino would score off an assist from Moran to put the Cardinals up by one. The Firebirds would respond and go on a four goal run to put them up 12-9 with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. After a Cardinal penalty, the Firebirds would extend their lead to four with seven minutes remaining. The Cardinals would cut the lead to three as Rubino scored his fourth goal of the game off an assist from Moran. After a Firebirds turnover deep in their own territory, Illgen would slip past a Firebird defender and put one past the goalkeeper to cut the lead to two before he would add another goal with 45 second remaining in the quarter. Just seconds later, Zach Kuyava would win the face-off and pass to Rubino who would put one past the Firebirds goalkeeper, stealing the Firebirds momentum and tying the game at 13 heading into the final quarter of play. 

The Cardinals would take the lead back as Moran scored his third goal of the game with 11 minutes left to play. The Firebirds would tie the game up once again with 7:42 left in the fourth quarter. The Firebirds were looking to score and a shot by Andrew Frey hit off the crossbar and went across the midfield line right to Eberhardt. Eberhardt would slip past a defender and give it to a wide open Illgen to put the Cardinals up 15-14 with 4:20 left in the game. Rubino would put the Cardinals up by two as he put one past the Firebirds goalkeeper with 3:48 left in the game. With that goal, Rubino is the seventh Cardinal in program history to reach 100 career points and the third Cardinal this season to surpass this milestone. Just moments later, Eberhardt scored his fourth goal of the game to put the Cardinals up 17-14. Illgen would put the game away as he scored off an assist from Scott Allgood to secure the 18-14 win for the Cardinals and send them to the Championship game. 

Moran led the team with three goals and six assists and a season high nine points. Rubino tallied six goals in the contest while Illgen had five goals and Eberhardt had four. Kuyava led the team with ten ground balls while going 20 of 30 on the face-offs. Aidan Murphy tallied 12 saves as he improved to 4-1 on the season. 

"I'm very proud of the composure these young men showed tonight. Carthage played extremely well between the lines the majority of the game, but our guys did not quit. This season has been a journey of the highest highs and some pretty low times as well. That prepared us for this evening's game to never give up. I'm excited to have two more guaranteed days with this team" said head coach Jay Farrell. 

The Cardinals will host Transylvania University on Sunday for the CCIW Championship game. The game time and location are TBD. 


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