ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team opened up its 2016 season with a 10-3 loss to Alma College.
The Scots (1-0) answered an Elmhurst goal with two separate 4-0 runs to pull away from the Bluejays (0-1).
The Scots found the scoreboard first. Right after killing a penalty, Jared Nycz scored the team's first goal of the season. Elmhurst answered less than two minutes later as
Tyler Dailey put the Bluejays on the board unassisted.
Alma scored the next four goals of the game to take a 5-1 lead into halftime. Marshall Argenta tacked a goal on to give the Scots the lead after one period. Tanner Diment took the opening faceoff of the second quarter and scored right away to extend the Alma lead. Nycz added to the advantage with a pair of goals in the period.
Nick Bonastia made nine saves in the first half, including a tough stop off a rebound that caromed to point-blank range. Alma outshot the Bluejays 17-13, but held a 14-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Matt Westhaver took advantage of a man-up opportunity to score his first goal of the season and bring the Bluejays within three with 12:09 to go in the third quarter. Alma extended its lead again with four straight goals, including three from Buchy.
Nick Klenck totaled the final Bluejay goal, scoring with 4:35 to go in the contest.
Elmhurst's three different goal scorers all scored unassisted, while
Jake Matsche le the team with five ground balls and
Kalani Flowers caused a team-high three turnovers. Nycz and Buchy paced Alma with four goals apiece, while Nycz also added two assists and Austin Jordan totaled four groundballs and three caused turnovers.
Nick Bonastia made 15 saves in the loss, while Al Lesperance earned the victory with 10 saves.
The Scots outshot the Bluejays 34-31 and put 12 more shots on frame (25-13) than Elmhurst. Elmhurst converted on one of its three man-up opportunities, while killing off both of Alma's. Both teams were solid on the clear as the Scots converted 21-of-22, while the Bluejays finished 19-of-21. Alma won the turnover battle 22-15 and the teams both picked up 38 ground balls.
The Bluejays host Hendrix College on Friday, February 26 at 5:00 p.m.
