Contact: Tyler Bremner, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Results

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (Mar. 8, 2024) – The North Central College men's lacrosse team began their east-coast road trip against the Gordon College Scots Friday afternoon, downing them, 15-8.

North Central did not wait long to get rolling as Joey D'Cunha found space for the first score of the game. After a series of alternating possessions, Luke Illgen found space with Rylan McQueary's assistance to put the Cardinals up 2-1 with 11:25 to go. North Central kept the pressure on with periodic shot attempts until McQueary got his turn to add his name to the score sheet with 7:09 left. McQueary kept his rhythm getting another piece of the action just 42 seconds later when he set up Jude Vitale to set the score, 4-0. Another failed effort from the Scots allowed D'Cunha to find room again with over four minutes left for his second goal of the game. Two minutes later Gordon would finally put their first score up from Marco Fernandez to set the score, 5-1 into the second period.

The second period saw a similar story for the Cardinals as for fifteen minutes, Tom Eberhardt, McQueary, and Illgen would all find room to score. Eberhardt would only need the first 59 seconds to get his first goal, while McQueary would have to wait another two minutes for a setup from Charlie Snyder to put the Cardinals up, 7-1. At 8:22 D'Cunha found Illgen for a seven-goal lead, followed by Eberhardt under four minutes later for his second goal of the game. To seal off the final four minutes of the second period Illgen and McQueary both found time to score to put North Central up, 11-1 into halftime.

Entering the final 30 minutes of regulation, Gordon attempted to get on the board first, but a stalwart defensive stand would give Jude Vitale the chance to set up Illgen to set the Cardinals at their biggest lead of the season, 12-1. The Scots would retaliate with two quick goals within one minute of each other at the 9:41 mark, as Nick Buccella and Fernandez brought Gordon within nine goals. Feeling the pressure, four minutes later Luke Paris assisted Illgen with his fifth goal of the game while McQueary also set up Snyder for his first score of the game making it, 14-3 with 3:28 left. Gordon answered right back with a goal from Jackson Wright with two minutes to go but, a persistent Illgen got his sixth goal of the game thirty seconds later, after a setup from Dylan Andersen making the score, 15-4.

The final 15 minutes of regulation saw the Cardinals ease off the gas, as the team would not score this period allowing Caden Lake, John Flemmi, and Buccella to score four more for the Scots, making the final score 15-8.

Illgen led the team with a season-high six goals while McQueary followed with three goals and four assists. On the defensive end, Jake Paris secured six groundballs while Tucker Hanson caused two turnovers. At goal, Aidan Murphy played the first three periods securing 12 saves while Jack Senese and Colton Porter shared the final period with a collective three saves.

The Cardinals continue their east-coast road trip at Saint Vincent College on Monday. The game is set to start at 3 p.m. ET on UPMC Field.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.