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| Corey Rudrud 4 goals, 2 assists (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
The loss snapped the Tigers' second three-game winning streak of the 2013 season and dropped their overall record to 6-5.
The Spartans got the better of the play in the opening half and hit the break with a 7-5 lead. Mayo extended its edge to 11-7 after three periods before the visitors outscored the Spartans 4-1 over the final 12 minutes.
"We played tough all night long" coach Paul Sorensen said. "We made some key transitional defensive mistakes and didn't capitalize on some chances. We turned up our defensive intensity after the first half and that put us back in contention."
The Tigers had a late chance to tie the game but Garrett Gunderson's shot went wide of the mark as time expired.
Corey Rudrud (4 goals, 2 assists) and Brendan Berg (2 goals, 2 assists) combined for 10 points to lead the Farmington offensive attack.
Chris Fitzgibbons added two scores and an assist and Mitch Hilton, Michael Thompson and Kevin Clifton each cored once in the losing effort. Hilton added a pair of assists to his individual stat sheet and Garret Gunderson had one.
Matt Heinzerling guarded the Tiger net and stopped 12 of the 24 shots sent his way.
The loss hurt the Tigers' chances for gaining the top seed in the post-season tournament but Sorensen feels his team will be up to the challenge in the sections.
"We've lost three games to section opponents and they all came without us having the services of arguably our top midfielder in Jake Bauman who is out with a concussion," Sorensen said. "If we can finish strong we can make a case for the No. 2 seed behind Mayo."
Four of Farmington's five losses this season have been by one goal.
The Tigers close the regular season with back-to-back road games later this week, Thursday at St. Cloud Tech and Friday at Simley. Section play begins next week.
