ELMHURST, Ill. –  The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team could not hold off a late charge from Albion College, falling to the Brittons 8-7.
 
Elmhurst (3-5) led by as many as four goals on two occasions, but Albion (5-2) scored the game's final five goals to escape with the one-goal victory.
 
Albion grabbed a 1-0 lead after one quarter following Paul Lewis' goal off a feed from Alec Palmer.  Elmhurst turned the momentum in the second quarter, outshooting Albion 17-7 and scoring five straight goals to open up a four-goal cushion. Mac Harden evened the score off a Dan Curley assist less than 90 seconds into the quarter.
 
Dan O'Connell, Cater Meyer, Jake Cambron and Harden all tacked on unassisted goals over the next 12 minutes to give the Bluejays a 5-1 lead. Albion's Jacob Swift scored with 1:10 left in the half to trim Elmhurst's lead down to 5-2 at halftime.
 
The Britons pulled to within two midway through the third quarter on a John Cooke goal. Elmhurst answered back less than three minutes later as Jake Heil ripped home a shot from close range, extending the Bluejays' lead back to three at 6-3. Harden's third goal of the day with 2:49 left in the third put the Bluejays back in front by four. Harden raced in from behind the goal and scored with a no-look, over the shoulder shot. Albion pulled to within three just before the quarter ended on an Alec Palmer goal. The Bluejays led 7-4 after three quarters.
 
Cooke found Palmer open in front of the net for an early goal in the fourth quarter, bring Albion back to within two with 14:29 left to play. The Brittons kept up the pressure, closing the deficit to one after Cooke struck for his second goal of the game with 8:51 remaining. Albion pulled even with just under five minutes remaining as Drew Harm scored off a Brandon Leboida assist. A Jacob Swift goal just over a minute later gave Albion its first lead since the first quarter, putting the Brittons up 8-7 with 3:52 remaining.
 
Albion  outshot Elmhurst 45-33 in the contest, including a 27-9 edge in the second half and a 13-2 advantage in the fourth quarter. The Brittons also finished with a 37-19 edge in ground balls while winning 15-of-19 faceoffs.
 
Harden powered Elmhurst in the loss, finishing with the hat trick of three goals. Nick Bonastia took the loss in goal despite recording 12 saves and five ground balls.
 
Cooke, Palmer and Swift scored two goals apiece to pace Albion's offense. Trevor McManus earned the win in goal with eight saves and two ground balls.
 
Elmhurst plays at Whittier College on March 24.