ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's lacrosse team outlasted Carthage College in a high-scoring affair Saturday (April 5) evening, pulling away late for a 15-12 victory behind a dominant performance from Eli Spence and a pivotal third-quarter surge.

The Bluejays struck early and often in the first half, jumping to a 5-2 lead after the first quarter and maintaining a four-goal advantage heading into halftime. Carthage responded with a flurry of goals in the second half, trimming the margin to two on multiple occasions, but Elmhurst held firm in the final minutes to secure the win.

Spence led the way for Elmhurst with a staggering seven goals and two assists on 15 shots, finishing with nine total points. He was at the heart of nearly every major offensive push. Brenden Crouse added two goals and an assist, while Pete Grebe contributed two goals, including a crucial fourth-quarter tally that helped stall Carthage's comeback attempt. Fischer Son chipped in with a goal and two assists, and Tony Vazquez provided steady control at the faceoff X, winning 19 of 31 draws. Goalie Noah Mickelson finished with seven saves to earn the win.

Elmhurst wasted little time asserting itself in the opening quarter. Spence scored just under two minutes in off a pass from Son, and Son followed with a goal of his own a minute later. Carthage's Alec Gern responded to cut the deficit in half, but the Bluejays piled on with three more goals — a strike from Kaden Ames assisted by Spence, and back-to-back unassisted tallies from Spence — to take a 5-1 lead. Ben Krok gave Carthage a late lift with a goal at 1:39, but Elmhurst still carried a 5-2 edge into the second.

Carthage trimmed the lead early in the second quarter with an unassisted goal from Jake Westland, but the Bluejays quickly regrouped. Spence scored his fourth goal of the game at the 3:20 mark, and Crouse added another with 1:24 remaining, finishing a pass from Sam Hoff. Elmhurst led 7-3 at the half, controlling possession and tempo through much of the opening 30 minutes.

The third quarter opened with fireworks. Spence struck again less than two minutes in, then turned provider seconds later, assisting Hunter Hernandez to make it 9-3. Carthage fought back briefly with Gern's second goal, but Elmhurst responded with three straight tallies in under three minutes. Crouse scored unassisted, Spence buried a man-up opportunity off a feed from Son, and Gabe Henry added another to push the lead to 12-4. Carthage mounted a strong response with three goals in under two minutes — Gern, Andrew Johnson, and Krok on an extra-man chance — cutting the deficit to 12-7. Grebe broke up the run for Elmhurst with a goal at 1:47, but Krok answered again for Carthage with 11 seconds left, closing the quarter with Elmhurst ahead 13-8.

Carthage kept pushing in the fourth. Collin McClure scored off a Krok assist, followed by unassisted goals from Sam Wallace and Westland, suddenly making it a 13-11 game. Grebe delivered a much-needed response for Elmhurst with an unassisted goal at 8:13. Johnson kept Carthage alive with a tally at 4:54, but Spence capped his spectacular day with a final unassisted goal at 2:41, sealing the win for Elmhurst.

With the win, Elmhurst maintained their unblemised record to move to 10-0, standing as one of three undefeated teams left in NCAA Division III.

UP NEXT

The Bluejays host nationally-ranked Denision next Saturday, April 12, for a 1:00 p.m. start at Langhorst Field.

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