WHITTIER, Calif. - The Elmhurst men's lacrosse team opened a two-game road trip to California with a 14-8 loss to Whittier College. 

Elmhurst (2-4) jumped out to a strong start, outscoring Whittier (10-1) 5-2 in the opening quarter. Trailing 2-1, the Bluejays used goals from Nate Yuhas and Luke McAdams and a pair of goals from Blake Dickson to take a 5-2 lead after the first quarter.

Whittier turned the tables in the second quarter. The Poets took advantage of Elmhurst penalties to score four man-up goals while outscoring the Bluejays 6-0 in the quarter and building an 8-5 halftime lead.

Whittier scored the first two goals of the third quarter to push its lead up to 11-5, before Elmhurst answered back with three straight goals to make the score 10-8. 

Whittier outshot Elmhurst 34-32 and held a 34-29 edge in ground balls. 

McAdams, Yanda and Mac Harden led Elmhurst with two goals apiece in the loss. Harden finished with two assists to total a team-best four points. Jake Delgado took the loss in goal while making six saves. 

Sergei Jacobs paced Whittier with six points, totaling four goals and two assists. Nate Heritage added three goals and as assist. Dakota Turgeon totaled 13 saves in net while earning the win. 

Elmhurst will play Oberlin College in California on March 26.