WHITTIER, Calif. – The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team led by three in the first half, but a 13-2 run by Whittier propelled the Poets to an 18-9 victory.

The Poets (5-2) jumped to a quick lead, starting the scoring just 51 seconds into the game and took a 2-0 lead within four minutes of the opening whistle.

Elmhurst (3-6) wasted no time answering the call, scoring three goals in 1:39 to take a 3-2 lead. Mac Harden scored twice in the run, while Mal Euson tallied the third goal off an assist from Jackson Mandli. The Bluejays padded their lead late in the quarter as Matt Westhaver became the third Elmhurst player to score in the opening 15 minutes.

Harden netted his third goal of the game in the opening minutes of the second quarter before Whitter pushed back. Three straight goals from Whittier's Ian Leek snapped a 5-0 Bluejay run and tied the score at five halfway through the period. In the blink of an eye, Elmhurst found themselves in a three-goal hole at halftime as the Poets scored three more times in a three-minute span, finishing a 6-0 half-ending run.

Although Whitter held the lead in shots (21-18), Elmhurst held edges in ground balls (20-16) and face-off wins (9-6).

The Poets put the game out of reach by piling on in the third quarter, outscoring Elmhurst 7-1 to lead 15-6. Kalani Flowers, Tyler Dailey, and Westhaver (two) scored second half goals for the Bluejays in the loss.

Whittier outshot Elmhurst 44-28 in the contest and forced twice as many turnovers (18) as they committed (nine). The two teams split the 30 face-offs and did not score on their five combined man-up opportunities.

Harden and Westhaver both scored three goals. Nick Bonastia made 12 saves for the Bluejays. Leek led Whitter with seven goals and four assists.

Elmhurst continues its long road swing with a matchup against Adrian College at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on April 2.