The Aurora University men's lacrosse team trailed early but rebounded to dominate the final three quarters of the game against Midwest region rival Albion College on Saturday afternoon. In a rematch of the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament (Spartans won 12-11 in overtime), AU coasted to a 14-5 victory over Albion.

GAME INFORMATION -
FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 14, Albion College 5
RECORDS: Aurora University 10-1; Albion College 6-3
LOCATION: Vago Field - Aurora, Illinois
 
SPARTAN STARTING LINE UP:
Attack: Jason Koziol
Attack: Bailey Smith
Attack: Trevor McNamara
Midfield: Sam Hiss
Midfield: Corey Segall
Midfield: Will Bradshaw
Defense: Chad Ronk
Defense: Bryce Wallgard
Defense: Sean Arfsten
Goalie: Tyler Lombardi
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
AU started slowly and saw Albion lead 2-0 with 8:35 left in the first quarter when Spartan Head Coach Kylor Berkman called a timeout.
The Spartans settled in and scored three minutes later when JK Torres found Bailey Smith for AU's first goal.
An unassisted goal from Trevor McNamara at 2:53 of the first quarter tied the game.
Albion scored a man-up goal with just over two minutes left in the first to lead 3-2.
Just over a minute later, Joey Lucchesi tied the game and started what would become a 12-1 AU run.
As the final seconds of the first quarter counted down, Spartan Jason Koziol have AU their first lead (4-3). Ben Arends assisted on the play.
Early in the second, AU's Matt Sammarco drove the cage and scored to boost the lead to 5-3.
Following an Albion goal, AU embarked on nine straight goals.
Midway through the second, McNamara found Smith for his second tally of the game.
McNamara ended the first half scoring with a man-up tally with 2:34 on the game clock,
The Spartans went into halftime leading 7-4.
The AU run continued in the third with Sam Hiss, Lucchesi (man-up), Ben Arends and Bailey Smith scoring. Arends, Nick Glaser and McNamara collected assists on the goals. The Ben Arends goal was a thing of beauty, highlight reel material.
AU led following the dominating third quarter, 11-4.
The Spartan onslaught continued as AU frustrated Albion in all aspects of the game.
AU scored the first three goals of the fourth with tallies from Sammarco, Lucchesi and Smith.
With the game out of hand, Albion added a late goal to make the final score 14-5.
 
FOR THE SPARTANS
The AU defense forced 17 Albion turnovers.
AU was 20-of-21 on clears.
Trevor McNamara had three assists and two goals.
Bailey Smith had four goals.
Joey Lucchesi had three goals.
Ben Arends had one goal and three assists.

SPARTAN TEAM LEADERS
Points: Trevor McNamara (5), Ben Arends and Bailey Smith (4)
Goals: Bailey Smith (4) and Joey Lucchesi (3)
Assists: Trevor McNamara and Ben Arends (3)
Ground balls: Corey Segall (9)
Caused Turnovers: Sean Arfsten (5), Josh Favorite and Dustin Rhodes (3)
Face offs: Corey Segall (13-of-21)
Saves: Tyler Lombardi (6)
 
UP NEXT
Next action for the Spartan men's lacrosse team comes on Tuesday, April 4 when they host Benedictine University. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. on Vago Field.