NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The University of Dubuque men's lacrosse team visited the North Central College Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. After a tough-fought game, the Spartans claimed a 9-8 win in overtime. The win marked Coach Tyler Thomas's first career win as a head coach.

The Spartans struck first with a quick goal from Tyler Johnson to take a 1-0 lead on the assist from Andrew Beaudoin. Despite a quick start, the Cardinals scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead as both teams went into the second quarter.

With 10:14 remaining in the second period, it was Cambell Smith who scored from far out to bring the game to a 3-2 match after a great assist from Johnson. The Cardinals struck again to make it 4-2, but not for long. Smith made a great move around the defenders and got him one-on-one with the goalkeeper, where he got the better of the matchup, making the score 4-3 as both teams went into the half.

North Central scored twice to start the second half and take a 5-3 lead. The Spartans remained calm, and eventually Smith, with his third goal of the game, made it 5-4 on an assist from Peter Schiess. Not long after, and with three minutes left in the third, Johnson scored his second goal of the game to make it square at 5-5. The assist came from Andrew Beaudoin.

Entering the fourth quarter, even, North Central struck twice to take a 7-5 lead. Shortly after the two-goal lead was established, Schiess was able to score one on a quick transition with the assist from Logan Ehle to bring it back to a one-goal deficit. Another Cardinal goal was quickly erased as Beaudoin scored with 2:30 left on the clock, assisted by Johnson, with the score at 8-7. Coach Thomas called a timeout, and the Spartans geared up with 1:30 on the clock to find an equalizer. UD did as intended; Schiess scored his second goal of the game on an assist from Nate Richardson to force overtime.

Going into the sudden victory at 8-8, the Spartans took their time, and after trailing for most of the game, Smith, for his fourth goal, found the game-winning score from Chris Wilson, ending the game 9-8.

Owen Lang led the team on faceoffs with six wins and had seven ground balls. Nolan Nagy played in goal for the duration of the game and had 10 saves.

The Spartans improve to 1-2 after notching their first win of the year.

Up Next
The Spartans will remain on the road for the final of three straight away games. UD will face the Lawrence University Spartans in Appleton, Wis., on Saturday, March 7, at The Banta Bowl.