The Aurora University men's lacrosse team went to Augustana College on Wednesday afternoon and fell to the host Vikings 12-11 in the closely played thrilling contest.

GAME INFORMATION
FINAL SCORE: Augustana College 12, Aurora University 11
RECORDS: Aurora University 8-2; Augustana College 6-5
LOCATION: Rock Island, Illinois – Thorson-Lucken Field 
LENGTH OF GAME:  1:56
WEATHER: 40 degrees and overcast
 
SPARTAN STARTING LINE UP:
Attack: Jason Koziol
Attack: Bailey Smith
Attack: Trevor McNamara
Midfield: Will Bradshaw
Midfield: Matt Smidlein
Midfield: Sam Hiss
Defense: Jon Glende 
Defense: Bryce Wallgard
Defense: Sean Arfsten
Goalie: Tyler Lombardi

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Spartans scored first at 13:08 of the first quarter. Matt Sammarco tallied the goal with an assist from Nick Glaser.
After Augustana tied the game, Spartan Bailey Smith scored with an assist from Trevor McNamara.
That would be the only scoring of the first as AU led 2-1.
Augustana scored three goals to start the second and led 4-2.
AU answered with a 4-0 run with goals from Jason Koziol (JK Torres), McNamara, JD Kettle and Ben Arends (McNamara).
Right before halftime, Augustana scored to send the teams to intermission with AU leading 6-5.
Both teams scored twice in the third quarter with Spartan goals coming from Sam Hiss and McNamara.
Augustana scored three goals to start the fourth and took a 10-8 lead.
AU's Bailey Smith scored at 4:28 left with an assist from Alex Gebben but Augustana scored again 1:30 later to lead by two,11-9.
With AU trailing by two with under two minutes to play, Sammarco scored his second of the day and was quickly followed by Koziol's second of the day and the game was tied 11-11.
With 21 seconds left, Augustana scored to take a 12-11 advantage and set up a thrilling end to the game.
Spartan Matt Smidlein won the ensuing face off, allowing AU to call a timeout and set up a the offense.
AU and attack man Jason Koziol was able to get off two shots in the final seconds but one was blocked and the second went wide as the final horn sounded.

FOR THE SPARTANS
Trevor McNamara had two goals and two assists.
Matt Sammarco had two goals and one assist.
Matt Smidlein was 11-of-24 at the face off dot.
Tyler Lombardi had 13 saves in net.

SPARTAN TEAM LEADERS
Points: Trevor McNamara (4)
Goals: Trevor McNamara, Bailey Smith, Jason Koziol and Matt Sammarco (2)
Assists: Trevor McNamara (2)
Ground balls: Matt Smidlein, Tyler Lombardi and Sam Hiss (4)
Caused Turnovers: Sean Arfsten and Jon Glende (3)
Face offs: Matt Smidlein (11-of-24)
Saves: Tyler Lombardi (13)
 
UP NEXT
Next action for the Spartan men's lacrosse team comes on Sunday, April 10 when they host Whittier College. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. on Vago Field.