Box Score AURORA, Ill. — After scoring two goals to get within one point in the final moments, the Carthage College men's lacrosse team was unable to edge Aurora on Saturday, falling 9-8 at Spartan Athletic Park.

The defenses of each team held strong to begin the match, with Aurora (2-3) scoring first with just over six minutes left in the first period. After Connor Smith responded to tie the game at one minutes later, the home team added three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead at the quarter's end. Colin Poitras would score for Carthage (6-1) early in the second frame, before two goals from Aurora set the halftime score at 6-2.

The Firebirds would net a trio of goals in the third period compared to two from the home team to make it 8-5 as the teams went to the final quarter. After Brad Dodds broke through for a goal with 5:40 left in the game, Aurora responded to make it 9-6. A pair of scores in the final minutes of play by Carthage got the Firebirds within one point, but they were unable to tie the match as the clock expired.

Carthage is scheduled to return home next and host Marian University on Wednesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at Art Keller Field.
 

Head Coach David Neff

"It's a tough one to lose. We lost Andrew Johnson yesterday, and that sort of blew up our plans for offense, and having both him and Lindner out means everyone needs to play at an elite level. Unfortunately, we played just OK and that's not good enough in these road games against a program with a winning tradition. We also need to do a better job of finishing periods. I think we gave up six goals in the last two minutes of each period, and that just can't happen. Wins and losses are often decided by inches and seconds, and today we were always on the short end of those two things. The silver lining is, if we can get guys back and healthy, I think we will have learned some things without them that will make us a better team later."
 

Quick Facts

• Colin Poitras led the Firebirds with five goals today, tying his career-best which he last hit on February 27 this season against Concordia-Chicago.
• Poitras now has 189 career points, moving him up to fifth place for most in a Carthage career.
• His 18 shots today are tied for the second-most in a single game in program history.

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