NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Elmhurst University men's lacrosse team's second half rally came up one goal short as the Bluejays fell 9-8 in a close contest against North Central College.

The Bluejays trailed 4-2 at the end of the first quarter, with Marcus Yandall scoring both goals for Elmhurst (9-4/1-2 CCIW). The Cardinals (5-6/1-2 CCIW) extended their lead to 6-2 at halftime by scoring two unanswered goals and holding Elmhurst scoreless in the second period.

The Bluejays tied the game up at six apiece heading into the final period with two more goals by Yandall and one goal each from Parker O'Leary and Trent Nyberg in the third.

North Central regained a two-goal lead early in the fourth quarter, before Jake Grebe scored back-to-back goals for the Bluejays to tie the game up once more at eight apiece.

Nick Rubino scored the game-winning goal for the Cardinals with 4:23 left to narrowly defeat the Bluejays.

Braden King won 6-of-16 faceoff attempts for the Bluejays, while Austin Evans, David Castaneda and Sante Dybowski each picked up four groundballs apiece. Nyberg and Ryan Camarata tied for a team-high two caused turnovers.

Tom Eberhardt led the way for North Central with three goals. Scott Allgood, Rylan McQueary and Jack Moran each finished with one goal and one assist apiece in the win. Zach Kuyava won 12-of-16 faceoff attempts and picked up a game-high six groundballs.

Elmhurst's Noah Mickelson collected 22 saves, while North Central's Aidan Murphy earned the win with 10 saves.

The Bluejays head to Rock Island for their next CCIW matchup against Augustana on Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m.