KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's lacrosse team avenged their only conference loss of the season on Saturday, May 6, defeating Carthage College by a final score of 12-8 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament championship. This is the first conference tournament victory in program history for the Titans who lost to the Red Men in last years finals. Senior Evan Mok-Lamme led the team with four total points on three goals, one assist, and two caused turnovers.

Illinois Wesleyan will hope for an at-large selection into the NCAA Division III championships because the CCIW does not yet have an automatic qualifying bid into the tournament. The selection show for the tournament can be found here at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 7.

Saturday proved to be a low scoring affair for the Titans who came into the game leading all of NCAA Division III in scoring with 20.47 goals per game. Mok-Lamme was key for IWU in the first, assisting on a goal by sophomore Will Rossi before finding the back of the net himself at the 7:45 mark. 

The Titans took a 4-3 lead into halftime after a pair of man-down goals from senior Michael Julius and junior Nick Winter. Julius scored twice and had one assist in the game. After goals from Rossi and Mok-Lamme gave IWU a 6-4 lead in the third, Carthage went on to score three unanswered goals to take a 7-6 lead. Rossi and Mok-Lamme each finished the game with three goals for the Titans to lead the team.

Trailing 7-6 heading into the final quarter, the Titans exploded for five unanswered goals to take an 11-7 lead over Carthage. A late goal from Andy Szun gave the Red Men life late, but it wasn't enough to swing momentum in their favor. Mok-Lamme sealed the deal for IWU scoring a late goal in the waning seconds of the game.

Illinois Wesleyan's defense was disruptive on Saturday causing 21 Carthage turnovers and holding the Red Men to 17-of-25 on clearance attempts.

Also scoring for Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday were senior Tim Smith, sophomore Bailey Marth, and freshman Alex Doorenbos. Sophomore J.C. Grabarek led the team with seven ground balls and won 13-of-23 face-off attempts. Senior Max Porter recorded five ground balls and caused one turnover.

In goal senior Steven Laduzinsky made 14 saves on 38 shots faced while picking up two ground balls. Carthage's Ryan Smith made 18 saves in goal.

What's Next?
After their win on Saturday Illinois Wesleyan will hope to earn an at-large selection into the NCAA Division III championships. The selection show for the tournament can be found here at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. A selection into the tournament would be a first for the men's lacrosse program.