Gavin Braley wins faceoff against DePauw
©Steve Woltmann
10
Winner DePauw DEPAUW 4-3
8
North Central (Ill.) NORTH CE 1-7
Winner
DePauw DEPAUW
4-3
10
Final
8
North Central (Ill.) NORTH CE
1-7
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
DePauw DEPAUW 3 4 0 3 10
North Central (Ill.) NORTH CE 3 2 2 1 8

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Cardinals Fall in Back-and-Forth Affair with Tigers

Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communications, 630-637-5302

March 18, 2026 - Despite a strong four-quarter effort, the North Central College men's lacrosse team fell 10-8 to DePauw University in a midweek contest Wednesday evening at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. The loss marks the Cardinals' sixth game this season decided by two goals or fewer. North Central drops to 1-7 on the year, while DePauw improves to 4-3.

An evenly matched contest saw both teams take 30 shots throughout 60 minutes of action. As a team, the Cardinals led in ground balls (35-32) and faceoff wins (15-7) while DePauw held the advantage in clears (15-14), saves (9-8), and caused turnovers (15-9).

Leading the way for the Cardinals was sophomore Seth Rosen, who notched his first collegiate hat trick and added an assist for a four-point game. Devon Manjarrez and Ty Nagy each recorded two goals, while Ben Kerkow had one. Wyatt Hunt and Jack Blaylock also recorded assists in the contest.

A trio of Cardinals recorded a pair of caused turnovers, including Kerkow, Will Handberg and Dominic Rohrer. Handberg led the team with nine ground balls, with Gavin Braley close behind with eight. Braley also went 14-for-20 at the faceoff X. 

Beck Hagen and Matthew Cranston split time in goal, with Hagen taking the opening two quarters and recording two saves, while Cranston came in to relieve in the second half, notching six saves. 

North Central got out ahead first with 12:21 left on the clock as Kerkow dropped his defender just over midfield and took it all the way in for the first goal of the game. DePauw didn't waste any time getting it back at the 11;16 mark to level it out again. 

A minute later, Kerkow disrupted the Tigers' transition and utilized efficient ball movement to find an open Rosen in front of the net for the Cardinals' 2-1 lead. With under eight to play in the first, Max Minami took a shot that was deflected by the Tigers' keeper but scooped up by Nagy who quickly buried a shot for the 3-1 lead. DePauw managed to score off the reset to cut it back within one, and found another goal a minute later to tie the game up at 3-3 after the first period. 

The Tigers scored two minutes into the second period to take their first lead of the game at 4-3. North Central stormed back with two goals a minute apart from Manjarrez and Rosen to regain a 5-4 advantage. In the final five minutes of the opening half, DePauw strung together three straight goals to take a 7-5 lead into halftime. 

With Cranston stepping between the posts to start the second half, he made a crucial save, stopping a point-blank shot to keep DePauw's lead at two. Thanks to a dish from Hunt, Nagy scored with 9:42 on the clock to bring the Cardinals within one. Manjarrez scored off the helper from Rosen to tie it up, while Cranston held the Tigers scoreless in the third period. 

A hot start for the Tigers in the fourth gave DePauw a 9-7 lead with 10 minutes left to play. With under two minutes left in the game, DePauw notched its 10th goal and began to close the door on the Cardinals. Continuing their fight, North Central made quick work following a Tigers' faceoff violation as Blaylock dumped it off to Rosen, but the Cardinals ultimately fell 10-8.

North Central is back on the road on Saturday, March 21, as they head north to Grand Rapids, Mich. to face Calvin University at 1 p.m. ET.
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