Contact: Tyler Bremner, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Results

ELMHURST, Ill. (Apr. 1, 2024) – The North Central College men's lacrosse team faced the Elmhurst University Bluejays for the second time in a row, falling 13–11 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) tournament semifinals.

The Cardinals (11-3, 3-2 CCIW) got out ahead early as they stunned the Bluejays (12-3, 4-1 CCIW) with four goals in the first 14 minutes of competition. Joey D'Cunha led the effort with Rylan McQueary's assistance to notch the game's first score four minutes in. In the last six minutes, Luke Paris fired off the next goal with aid from Luke Illgen. This sparked two goals from Illgen as Dylan Andersen and Tom Eberhardt set him up in the final two minutes to lift the Cardinals to a four-nil lead. With seven seconds left, Elmhurst found an answer on offense as Jake Grebe set Hunter Hernandez up to put them on the board 4-1.

North Central entered the second period with a vengeance with Paris finding room again to set up Illgen just four and a half minutes in, sparking a three-goal run. Evan Watanabe and Eberhardt followed suit to help lift the Cardinals to a 7-1 lead with under eight minutes left. The Bluejays struggled to find an offensive rhythm until the last three minutes saw Eli Spence, Hernandez, Chris Haycock, and Grebe combine for four goals to end the half putting Elmhurst back in at 7-5.

The beginning of the third period saw the Bluejays inch closer as Cullen McManaman found room for a shot past Aidan Murphy to put Elmhurst within one for the first time since the start of the game. A quick faceoff victory from Zach Kuyava allowed D'Cunha to set up Eberhardt to lift the Cardinals by two with 12:50 to go. Both offenses continued to keep pressure on both sides of the field until Hernandez scored with over eight minutes left. With the Bluejays within striking distance, Hernandez snuck another goal in three minutes later to tie the game for the first time. North Central feeling the pressure continued to pepper Andrew Lacksonen in goal, not finding success until 33 seconds remained as Eberhardt put the Cardinals ahead 9-8. This was not the end of the quarter as Grebe and Spence each scored in the final 20 seconds to put the Bluejays ahead for the first time, 10-9.

With the Cardinals and Bluejays seasons on the line, both teams battled up and down the field with Elmhurst scoring first as Spence broke through two minutes in. North Central crept back with one five minutes later as D'Cunha scored his second goal of the match. Both defenses rallied for the next three minutes until Grebe found room to put a two-goal lead over the Cardinals. D'Cuhna kept hope alive with just under five minutes left, scoring his third goal of the match. Elmhurst found room again to score an insurance goal from Spence to end the match at 13-11.

Offensively D'Cunha, Eberhardt, and Illgen complimented each other with three goals and one assist each. Tucker Hanson led the defense in caused turnover (2) and Rutger Rawlings led in groundballs (2). Murphy held off 17 scoring attempts through all 60 minutes.

North Central finishes the season at an overall 11-4 record earning five All-CCIW selections. Along the way, they set new records for goals (30), points (52), and assists (22) in a single game, established a new record for goalkeeper saves (23), and a career record for points (185).

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