Hoosiers fail in attempt to snap streak of losses

The men's lacrosse team said its four-game losing streak was enough. Illinois didn't oblige. \nThe Hoosiers' bid to snap the streak fell short Saturday against conference rival Illinois as the Fighting Illini sent IU to its fifth consecutive loss with a third-quarter explosion that ultimately ended IU's hopes. \nIllinois scored five goals in the third quarter and added another in the final frame to top the Hoosiers 11-5 on Parents' Weekend. \nIt looked as if IU might end its skid early. IU and Illinois matched defensive skills in the first quarter, and only one goal was scored by Illinois. IU bounced back in the second quarter, scoring three goals, but the Illini answered with four goals of their own to take a 5-3 lead into halftime.\nThen came the Illini outburst. Illinois racked up five goals in the third quarter to grab a 10-4 lead. Illinois goalkeeper Mike Vanderweide took it from there, holding the Hoosiers to one goal in the fourth quarter. IU fired 33 shots but scored only five times.\nFreshman Brett Aprati led IU with two goals. Freshman Jon Hatton, junior Brian Haney and sophomore Pete Bergren each scored a goal. \nSenior goalkeeper Mike Dodge recorded 12 saves and junior defenseman Matt Wilner helped the offense with an assist.\nIU also lost junior longstick middle Brian Longly for the rest of the season. Longly suffered a separated shoulder.\n"It's been a tough season for us," coach Vic Bowers said. "We were never able to recover after losing in St. Louis a month ago. It's a shame, because we are a better team than our record shows."\nThe Hoosiers have two more chances to stop their losing streak this weekend when they head to Kalamazoo, Mich., to battle Western Michigan and Cincinnati.