AURORA, Ill. -- Illinois Wesleyan got four goals from each of junior Nick Winter and Sophomore Bailey Marth, as the two led the Titans to a 19-15 victory over Aurora University in the second round of the NCAA Division III men's lacrosse championships. A win over the Spartans avenges a loss in the 2017 regular-season opener in which the Titans fell by a score of 14-10.

With a win over Aurora, IWU advances to the third round of the tournament where they will meet fifth-ranked Denison University on Saturday, May 13. Denison earned their spot in the third round with a convincing 17-9 result over College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe Carthage College. Illinois Wesleyan will travel to Granville, Ohio to face the Big Red at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 13.

Illinois Wesleyan improved their season record to 16-3 with a win and increased their winning streak to eight games dating back to a 17-5 win over Augustana on April 12.

It didn't take long for Illinois Wesleyan to find their groove against the Spartans, taking an early 3-1 lead via goals from senior Jacob Perry and Evan Mok-Lamme, and freshman Alex Doorenbos. Senior Michael Julius assisted on each of the Titans first three strikes and five total on Wednesday. Aurora tied things up at three heading into the second quarter however thanks to a goal from Bailey Smith in the closing seconds.

The second quarter featured a barrage of scoring from both sides, but it was a run of five unanswered goals from Aurora that set the tone. Trailing 10-7, Illinois Wesleyan aimed to earn some momentum heading into the locker room for halftime. Goals from sophomore Will Rossi and senior Max Porter did just that as the Titans trailed by one at the half. Porter's goal was just his third of the season and found the back of the net as the clock struck 00:00.

IWU started the second half strong with Marth beating the goalkeeper for his second and third goals of the game. Two more goals from senior's Tim Smith and Mok-Lamme gave IWU a 13-12 lead heading into the final quarter.

Winter opened the floodgates in the fourth, scoring two of five unanswered goals to open the quarter and three of the Titans six goals in the fourth overall. Goals from Winter, Marth, and Doorenbos gave Illinois Wesleyan a commanding 18-12 lead with just six minutes remaining in the contest. One final goal from Winter put the nail in the coffin and secured the Titans a trip to the third round.

Sophomore midfielder J.C. Grabarek led the team with 11 ground balls and won 16-of-31 face-off attempts on the afternoon. Porter led the team in caused turnovers with three and was followed closely by senior Ryan Kunzi who tallied two. Freshman Christian Torres notched his fourth career assist on a goal by Marth in the second quarter. In goal senior Steven Laduzinsky made 11 saves on 57 shots faced, 26 of which were on goal. Aurora's Tyler Lombardi made 12 saves.

Illinois Wesleyan was outshout by Aurora 57-41, but the Titans were better at placing their shots on goal, leading the Spartans in that category 31-26.

What's Next?
With a win over Aurora, IWU advances to the third round of the tournament where they will meet fifth-ranked Denison University on Saturday, May 13. Denison earned their spot in the third round with a convincing 17-9 result over College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe Carthage College. Illinois Wesleyan will travel to Granville, Ohio to face the Big Red at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 13.

ABOUT DENISON: The No. 5-ranked Big Red enter into Saturday's match riding a 16-game winning steak ... Last season Denison defeating Carthage in the opening round of the NCAA tournament 19-2 prior to besting Aurora by a final of 12-3 ... Denison's tournament hopes were dashed by eventual national champions Salisbury in overtime ... Other than Carthage, Dension has played one common opponent with Illinois Wesleyan, going 2-0 against Ohio Wesleyan on the season and defeating them 16-8 in the NCAC conference tournament championship ... The Big Red currently boast the third ranked scoring offense in DIII (17.94) and the seventh ranked scoring defense (6.31) ... Denison has scored on 66.1 percent of man-up chances this season which leads the country ... Denison has successfully cleared the ball from their zone 90 percent of the time in 2017 and commits the second-fewest turnovers per game in DIII (13.06) ...