ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team battled back from a four-goal deficit, but fell in heartbreaking fashion to Illinois Wesleyan 11-10.
 
Trailing 8-4 early in the third quarter, Elmhurst (4-8, 0-1 CCIW) went on a 6-1 run over the next 27 minutes to take a 10-9 lead. But the Titans (9-3, 1-0 CCIW) found the answer with less than two minutes remaining as Michael Julius netted his 48th goal of the season and third of the game to tie the score at 10.
 
After both goalkeepers made excellent saves in the final minute of regulation, the Titans won the opening draw of overtime and scored just 14 seconds later, taking the victory 11-10.
 
After five minutes of scoreless action to begin the game, Illinois Wesleyan broke the scoring with the first two goals. Elmhurst's Dan O'Connell pulled the Bluejays within one, but the Titans put the final goal of the period on the board to lead 3-1 after one.
 
The teams traded goals in the second quarter with Elmhurst pulling within one on three occasions. Mac Harden scored twice and David Fracassa added one in the period. Illinois Wesleyan finished off the half with two unanswered goals and led 7-4 at the break.
 
After the Titans pulled ahead by a game-high three goals, Elmhurst made their comeback. Harden netted his third of the contest before Tyler Dailey and Matt Westhaver added their first goals to pull the Bluejays within one again at 8-7.
 
After the Titans added one more, the Elmhurst freshman gave the team the lead. Fracassa scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, and Harden also put one home to give the Bluejays a 10-9 lead with eight minutes to play.
 
The Elmhurst defense held strong for the majority of the last eight minutes, but Julius found an opening with 1:41 to play, tying the game. James Maibuecher finished off the game by putting home his third of the game 14 seconds into overtime.
 
Harden's four goals was the game high and he also talled one assist. Fellow freshman Fracassa finished with three goals. Elmhurst assisted on eight of their 10 goals in the contest.
 
Nick Bonastia played another solid game in net. The Bluejays stopped 19 Titan shots, including a stop in the final 10 seconds of regulation that kept the game tied. Nineteen saves ties his second-highest output of the season.
 
The Titans outshot the Bluejays 48-32, including a 30-16 edge in shots on goal. Elmhurst turned the ball over 21 times to Illinois Wesleyan's 15, while the Titans also held a 40-33 advantage in ground balls.
 
Julius and Maibuecher both scored three goals to lead the Titans, while Steven Laduzinsky totaled six saves in the win.