ALMA, Mich. - The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team could not hold on to an early lead before falling 10-9 at Alma College.

Elmhurst (3-2) led by six goals in the second half, but Alma (3-1) rattled off eight straight goals to take a 10-8 lead before holding on for a one-goal victory.

Elmhurst raced out to an early 3-0 lead on goals from Ty Funderburk, Mac Harden and Matt Westhaver. Alma cut the deficit down to two at 3-1 after the first quarter, but goals from Westhaver and Jake Cambron gave the Bluejays a 5-1 lead midway through the second half. The Bluejays led 5-2 at the break. 

Elmhurst started strong in the third, scoring three straight goals before Alma mounted its rally. Cambron scored less than a minute into the quarter and Harden added back-to-back extra-man goals to give the Bluejays an 8-2 cushion with 8:20 remaining. 

Austen Irrer scored for Alma to bring the Scots to within five with 6:33 left in the third. Alma closed the third quarter with a flurry, scoring three times in the final two minutes to trim the Bluejays' lead down to just two. 

Irrer's goal 37 seconds into the fourth quarter brought Alma to within one and the Scots tied the score at 8-8 on Daniel Buchy's goal with 6:09 left on the clock. A Jake Ellens goal with 4:17 left and a Jonathan Durga goal with 2:44 left gave Alma a 10-8 lead. The Bluejays cut the lead in half on Westhaver's third goal of the game with 1:09 remaining. The Buejays had three possessions in the final minute, but turnovers prevented the squad from getting off a shot. 

Alma outshot Elmhurst 49-25, including a 29-11 edge in the second half. The Bluejays owned a 41-33 edge in ground balls but turned the ball over 26 times to Alma's 19. Elmhurst was successful on 17-of-20 clear attempts and scored on 2-of-3 extra-man opportunities. 

Harden and Westhaver paced the Bluejays' offense with three goals apiece. Jake Heil finished with a three-point day by totaling three assists. Cambron added two goals while Funderburk finished with a goal and an asasist. Jackson Mandli and CJ Galante also added assists for the Bluejays. Rami Ringling won 14-of-23 faceoffs and tallied a team-leading nine ground balls. Harden added eight ground balls in the loss. Nick Bonastia took the loss in goal despite saving 16 shots. 

Buchy paced Alma with four goals while Irerr added two goals and an assist. Came Stelljes earned the win in goal by stopping six shots. 

Elmhurst plays at Hope College next Saturday, March 11.