FINAL SCORE: Mt. Vernon Nazarene 9, Earlham 8
LOCATION: Richmond, Indiana (Darrell Beane Stadium)
RECORDS: Earlham 1-4 / Mt. Vernon Nazarene 3-4

RICHMOND, Indiana – Mt. Vernon Nazarene's goal a split-second before the final horn lifted the visiting Cougars to a 9-8 win over Earlham College men's lacrosse, on Wednesday evening at Darrell Beane Stadium.

Down by one in the final minutes, Earlham knotted the game at 8-8 on Avery Rush-Elias' unassisted goal. The game appeared headed into overtime, when a final shot by Mt. Vernon Nazarene's Jason Laasmar from five yards out beat Earlham goalie Steven Shaughnessy for the game winner.

Earlham had led 5-2 at one point in the second quarter, after early first quarter goals from Cameron Jackson and Sam Sargent. After MVNU knotted the game at 2-2, Sargent, Kevin Ventura, and Elijah Gamber all found the back of the Cougar goal to give the Quakers a 5-2 lead. Mt. Vernon Nazarene's Brett Townsend netted a goal with 4:01 remaining in the frame, and Earlham took a 5-3 advantage into the halftime break.

Two Cougar goals evened the game at 5-5, with back-to-back goals from Logan Reihing putting the Quakers back into the lead, 7-5, by the end of the third quarter.

Mt. Vernon Nazarene outscored Earlham, 4-1, over the final 15 minutes to eke out the road win. Laasmer also scored the Cougars' first goal of the final stanza, with Johnny Grumney and Brett Townsend notching goals to give MVNU an 8-7 lead heading down the stretch.

Sargent finished with two goals and an assist for three points, while Reihing notched two goals. Rush-Elias and Jackson each had one assist to go with their goals.

MVNU outshot Earlham, 36-30, and the Cougars picked up 30 ground balls to the Quakers' 22.

Earlham men's lacrosse continues its three-game home stand on Saturday, March 20, when it hosts Concordia University Chicago. Game time at Darrell Beane Stadium is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.