ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team limited the high-powered offense of Aurora to just seven goals, but the Bluejays came up short in a 7-5 loss to the Spartans.
 
Aurora (7-1) entered the game averaging over 15 goals per game, but the Bluejays held them to half of their per game total and just seven goals. Neither team led by more than two goals for the duration of the contest.
 
Aurora raced out to a quick 2-0 lead behind goals from JK Torres and Joey Lucchesi in the opening period. Mac Harden scored off a Matt Westhaver assist with 5:22 left in the first to cut the Spartans lead in half after one quarter. Ty Funderburk's goal 90 seconds into the second quarter evened the score at 2-2. The Bluejays cashed in on an Aurora penalty just two minutes later as Westhaver scored off an assist from Dan O'Connell on an extra-man goal to give Elmhurst a 3-2 lead.
 
The Bluejays' lead did not last as Bailey Smith scored just seven seconds after the Bluejays' goal to knot the score at 3-3. The Spartans took a 4-3 lead into halftime after Torres scored his second goal of the game with 6:12 left in the half.
 
The Bluejays pulled even early in the third as Jake Cambron scored off a Mike Foytlin assist with 12:27 left. The game remained tied at 4-4 for the next 11 minutes until Aurora's Ben Arends scored on an extra-man opportunity to put the Spartans up 5-4. Arends scored early in the fourth quarter to give the Spartans a two-goal lead at 6-4. Elmhurst closed to within one on a Funderburk goal with 4:51 remaining, but Torres put the game away for the Spartans with his third goal of the night with just 45 seconds left on the clock.
 
Aurora outshot Elmhurst 39-22 in the contest, including 24-8 in the second half as the Spartans brought pressure. Aurora held a 31-25 edge in ground balls as well.
 
Funderburk paced Elmhurst's offense with two goals while Westhaver added two points on a goal and an assist. Nick Bonastia kept the game close for the Bluejays in net, recording 14 saves and a ground ball despite taking the loss.
 
Torres powered Aurora's offense with the hat trick, finishing with three goals. Arends added two goals. Corey Segall controlled the faceoffs for the Spartans, winning 15-of-16 and totaling a game-high 10 ground balls. Tyler Lombardi picked up the win in goal with six saves and five ground balls.
 
Elmhurst hosts Albion on Saturday, March 18, at 1:00 p.m.