The Carthage men's lacrosse team was unable to mount a comeback at North Central on Wednesday night, falling 16-9 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament semifinal at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. The home team would take an early lead on Carthage (10-4) before Andrew Johnson scored to put the Firebirds on the board with just under two minutes left in the first quarter. While George Burchfield scored a pair of goals in the second quarter, North Central (12-1) would hold a 12-3 lead at the halftime break. After two early goals from the home team, Connor Smith quickly responded with a score, before Brad Dodds found the back of the net moments later. A pair of quick goals within a minute of each other from Noah Lindner helped cut the deficit, with William Clemens scoring for the Firebirds on a man-up opportunity to set the board at 14-8. In the final 15 minutes of play, Carthage was unable to catch up, as the two teams traded a pair of early goals before the home team added one more to set the final score at 16-9.