DUBUQUE, Iowa. – The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team qualified for the CCIW Tournament with a 12-6 victory over Dubuque.
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The Bluejays (6-10, 2-3 CCIW) will be the No. 4 seed in next week's conference tournament and face top-seeded Carthage on the road this Wednesday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m. Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan will matchup in the other semifinal and the winners will play for the conference tournament championship on Saturday.
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Elmhurst jumped all over the Spartans today, scoring eight of the first nine goals and leading 8-2 at halftime.
Matt Westhaver and
Mac Harden led the Bluejay attack in the first half with three goals each.
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In the first quarter, Elmhurst scored the first five goals of the game, including three in a row from Westhaver. Dubuque (2-11, 1-4 CCIW) added one at the end of the period, but trailed 5-1 after 15 minutes.
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The second quarter took a similar path with Elmhurst scoring the first three before the Spartans added one late. This time Harden scored the two in a seven-second span to lead the Bluejays.
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The Spartans chipped into the deficit by scoring the first two goals of the second half, pulling within four at 8-4, but that's as close as they would get. Westhaver tallied his fourth goal late in the period and Elmhurst led 9-4 heading into the fourth. After Dubuque scored the first goal of the fouth, Elmhurst ripped off three straight and put the game out of reach.
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Dan O'Connell also had a three-point game for the Bluejays with two goals and one assist. Other Bluejay scorers included
Jackson Mandli (two) and
David Fracassa (one goal, one assist).
Nick Bonastia made three saves in net for the Bluejays.
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Elmhurst held the shots advantage 43-17, while holding Dubuque to 10-of-31 on clear attempts and forcing 33 turnovers. The Spartans held the edge in ground balls (34-30) and face-offs (13-9).
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Tyson Svoboda led the Dubuque attack with three goals, while Kyle Mullins took the loss in net despite stopping 14 Bluejay shots.
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Elmhurst faces Carthage Wednesday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the CCIW Tournament semifinals.Â