SEWANEE, Tenn. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's lacrosse team fended off a second-half barrage from Sewanee: The University of the South on Sunday, March 11 to defeat the Tigers by a final score of 22-13. Junior Bailey Marth led the team in scoring with five goals in addition to three assists and eight ground ball pick-ups.

With a win the Titans improved to 4-1 on the season while Sewanee fell to 3-3.

Illinois Wesleyan out-shot Sewanee 58-52 overall and 39-27 in shots on goal. The Titans were largely successful on their clearance attempts for much of the afternoon finishing the match 23-of-29, but 3-of-6 in the fourth quarter. IWU was outdone in the face-off for the first time this season, winning 19-of-39 face-off attempts. Junior J.C. Grabarek was 12-of-22 in the face-off while freshman Max Bousky finished 7-of-17. 13 second-half penalties played a role allowing Sewanee a chance late in the game as the Tigers scored five man-up goals against the Titans.

Sophomore Alex Doorenbos matched Marth with five goals against the Tigers and was closely followed by senior James Maibuecher with four goals and junior Will Rossi with three. Senior Nick Winter, Grabarek, sophomores Cristian Torres and Patrick Murphy, and freshman Tanner Nelson each added one goal. Maibuecher was second on the team in assists with two and ground balls with seven. Sophomore Joe Hynes collected seven ground ball and caused a team-high five turnovers.

Sophomore Benigno Houser was the goalkeeper of record for the Titans, making 13 saves and allowing five goals.

IWU held a 14-0 lead at halftime, but a slew of second-penalties saw the Tigers out-score the Titans 5-3 in the third quarter and 8-5 in the fourth. Sewanee cut the Titan lead to five goals (17-12) with just under six minutes remaining prior to Illinois Wesleyan scoring five of the contests final six goals.

Hayden Hunt and Daniel Burnum each scored three goals for the Tigers to lead the team. Burnum also led the team in ground balls with eight and caused turnovers with two. Bryce Womack was the losing goalkeeper, allowing 14 goals and making seven saves.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan will travel to Newport News, Va. for a 3 p.m. match against No. 20-ranked Christopher Newport University on Wednesday, March 14. The Captains are currently 5-0 on the season with a 12-7 victory over previously ranked Washington and Lee University. Defensively, the Captains allow just 7.33 goals per contest compared to the 21.50 per match that the Titans average on offense.