ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana Vikings men's lacrosse team battled with the North Central Cardinals on Saturday, falling to the visitors 19–6 in the season finale. Before the game, the program honored its three seniors,
Tommy Wimmers, Caden McCann, and
Eddie Resendez.
The Vikings played the aggressor early, as Nik Schaafsma carved his way through the defense, giving Augustana a 1–0 lead at the 13:42 mark. The visitors responded eight seconds later and rattled off seven to wrap up the period with a commanding lead. Augustana slowed the attack in the second frame, surrendering three to the Cardinals before responding with back-to-back goals to cut into the lead. First, it was Jack Duffy who found pay dirt, taking a feed from Wimmers and putting it in the back of the net just past the goalie. Less than two minutes later, after a great defensive stop by McCann, it was Connor Schlachter who connected on the goal, catching a pass in stride from Sergeant to end the second-quarter scoring for the Vikings.
After halftime, Augustana's offense scored the first goal of the half in near-similar fashion to the first quarter, except this time Schaafsma took care of business himself, weaving through a pair of defenders while firing past the goalie. The Vikings surrendered two more goals in the third, rounding out the scoring. Schaafsma once again worked his way past the visiting defense, sending another shot to the top corner of the net to make it a 15–5 game. Wimmers found Augustana's final goal on the day, an unassisted shot and the final goal of his collegiate career.
Jamar Taylor was a defensive weapon, collecting nine ground balls and five caused turnovers. Schaafsma led the team with nine shots and three goals. McCann, in just his second start at goal, secured 20 saves in the loss. With the loss, the Vikings finish their season 3–12, 0–5 in the CCIW.
