KENOSHA, Wis. - The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team battled top-seeded Carthage College to a 2-2 draw at halftime before succumbing to the Red Men by a final score of 8-4.

Despite being outshot 17-11 in the opening half, Elmhurst gave Carthage (16-3) everything they could handle in the opening 30 minutes of play.
 
Jackson Mandli scored midway through the first quarter to give Elmhurst an early 1-0 lead. Carthage evened the score three minutes later on a Timothy Francis goal to make the score 1-1. Mandli fired home his second goal of the game midway through the second period back to put the Bluejays back in front, but an Elmhurst mistake just 18 seconds later resulted in an own goal and allowed the Red Men to pull even at two.
 
Carthage started quickly in the scoring half as Dylan Harris scored 4:45 into the third quarter to put the Red Men in front for the first time. Tanner Thomas added a goal less than 90 seconds later to extend Carthage's lead to two.
 
Carthage took advantage of a pair of Elmhurst penalties as Harris scored back-to-back extra-man goals to give the Red Men a four-goal cushion. Thomas added his second goal of the game early in the fourth quarter to put Carthage in front 7-2.

Alex Opyd scored back-to-back goals to bring Elmhurst to within three with just under five minutes remaining, but Billy Lane tacked on an insurance goal for Carthage to put the game away for the Red Men.
 
Carthage outshot Elmhurst 43-21 in the contest but Elmhurst had a 22-21 edge in ground balls. Carthage also won 11-of-15 faceoffs in the contest.
 
Mandli and Opyd paced Elmhurst in the loss with two goals apiece. Tyler Dailey added an assist and three ground balls for the Bluejays. Jake Matsche totaled three ground balls and caused four turnovers for the Bluejays. Nick Bonastia took the loss in net, despite recording 16 saves and eight ground balls for Elmhurst.

Harris led Carthage's attack with four points on three goals and an assist. Tanner added two goals while Francis and Lane each scored one. Jared Ferrell added two assists for the Red Men. Ryan Smith scored the win in goal for Carthage, recording 10 saves while allowing four goals.
 
Elmhurst finished the season with a 7-9 overall record and qualified for the first-ever CCIW Tournament with a top-four finish in the league.