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

Box Score

ORLANDO, FLA. (Mar. 15, 2023) -  The North Central College men's lacrosse team's strong fourth quarter was not enough to overcome a four goal deficit as they fell 11-10 to Western Connecticut State University in their spring break finale on Wednesday afternoon down in the  sunshine state. 

The Wolves (6-0) got on the board first in the contest but Tom Eberhardt tied things up as he finished off a Jack Moran pass. Joey D'Cunha found defender Trenton Herubin for the Cardinals second goal of the game, giving them a 2-1 lead. Herubin has scored a goal in the last three goals in the Cardinals last four games. The Cardinals kept the pressure on the Wolves, tallying two more goals in the quarter to give them a 4-1 lead. The Cardinals extended their lead to four as Rylan McQueary finished off a Nick Rubino pass but saw their lead be cut down to two as the Wolves scored three unanswered goals to end the second quarter. 

The Cardinals saw their two goal lead evaporate as the Wolves offense exploded for four goals in the third quarter while shutting out the Cardinals to give them a 8-5 lead heading into the final quarter of play. Tery Aronow found the  back of the net  early in the fourth  quarter to extend the Wolves lead to four but Eberhardt and Rubino cut the deficit two as they tallied two goals of their own. After a Wolves goal, McQueary found the back of the net twice within 30 seconds of each to bring the score to 11-10 in favor of the Wolves. Chris Comizio put the Wolves in front by two once again with 4:02 remaining but McQueary found the back of the net for the fourth time to bring the Cardinals within one with 2:10 remaining in the game. However, the Cardinals couldn't find any opportunities and fell 11-10. 

McQueary led all scorers with four goals while Eberhardt found the back of the net twice. Samuel Russchenberg led the Cardinals with three caused turnovers while scooping up one ground ball.  Jake Allgood tallied ten saves in the contest as he fell to 2-3 on the season. Western Connecticut State dominated the face-off as Jon Russack-Baker went 17 of 24 while Dylan Anderson and Zach Kuyava combined for just seven wins from the face-off circle. 

The Cardinals return to action on Thursday, March  23 as they take on local rival Aurora University in a non-conference tilt at 7 pm inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. 

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