BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's lacrosse team advanced to the final round of the CCIW Tournament following a 23-12 victory over Elmhurst College on Wednesday, May 5, 2017. IWU will face the winner of Wednesday night's match between Augustana and Carthage College in the finals. Senior Michael Julius led the team with a game-high five goals and three assists. 

With a win the Titans improved to 14-3 overall on the season while Elmhurst concludes their season with a record of 8-9.

After a closely contested first quarter which saw the two sides draw even at four goal apiece, the Titans poured in nine second quarter goals. IWU trailed by a score of 6-5 early in the second quarter, but eight unanswered goals from the Titans gave them a 13-6 lead at halftime.

Down 15-6 in the third quarter Elmhurst began to mount a comeback. Six Bluejay goals compared to just one for Illinois Wesleyan provided Elmhurst with a manageable four goal deficit. With momentum on the side of Elmhurst the Titans scored seven unanswered goals to pull away and advance to the conference final.

Senior Evan Mok-Lamme, sophomore Bailey Marth, and freshman Alex Doorenbos each scored three goals for the Titans on Wednesday. Senior's Tim Smith and Jacob Perry each added two goals to the team's tally. Sophomore's J.C. Grabarek and Will Rossi, junior Nick Winter, and freshman Pat O'Neil and Evan Anderson each scored once for IWU. Winter tied Julius for the game-high with three assists.

Grabarek recorded a game-high 13 ground balls and won 21-of-28 face-off attempts on the afternoon. In goal senior Steven Laduzinsky made 17 saves on 47 Elmhurst shots.

The Bluejays were led on offense by Matt Westhaver who scored four goals and assisted on one. Both Mac Harden and Ty Funderburk scored three times for Elmhurst. Harden also led the team with six ground balls. Goalkeeper Nick Bonastia made 16 saves on 49 Titan shots.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan will meet Carthage College in the CCIW Tournament final after the Red Men defeated Augustana 5-3. The final will take place on Saturday, May 6 in Kenosha, Wis. More information about the conference tournament can be found here.