Box Score

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team defeated University of Dubuque by a final score of 27-7 on Tuesday, March 20 to open the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) season. Sophomore Alex Doorenbos scored a game-high five goals and added two assists to finish with seven total points.

With a win the Titans improved to 5-2 on the season with a 1-0 record in CCIW play. Dubuque fell to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in the CCIW following a loss to IWU.

Illinois Wesleyan out-shot the Spartans 66-15 overall and 42-6 in the first half of action. IWU also saw major advantages in ground balls, picking up 54 compared to 19 for Dubuque. This was due in part to the success Illinois Wesleyan saw on the face-off, where they came away with the ball on 28-of-38 occasions. Junior J.C. Grabarek was 13-of-16 on the face-off and picked up a game-high eight ground balls. Freshman Max Bousky was 12-of-17 with three ground balls.

Defensively, the Titans caused 16 turnovers and forced the Spartans into committing 33 turnovers overall. Junior Zack Ladd and sophomore Joe Hynes each caused three turnovers. Illinois Wesleyan held Dubuque to a 13-of-18 performance on clearance attempts while converting on 18-of-20 of their own chances.

Junior Bailey Marth and senior Nick Winter were second on the team in points with five apiece. Marth finished with four goals and one assist while Winter scored twice and assisted on three scores. Sophomore Peter Trunk and freshman Nick Scott each earned hat-tricks by scoring three times. 

Freshman Will Harris earned the victory in goal for the Titans making two saves and allowing two goals in just over 31 minutes of action. Harris was relieved by freshman McGuire Mynatt who made four saves and allowed five goals in the final 28 minutes.

Illinois Wesleyan stepped on the gas early breaking out to an 18-2 first half lead heading into halftime. IWU hit the breaks in the second-half allowing for some of their inexperienced players to get valuable playing time in a conference game. Jaren Vance, Connor May, and Danny Lowe each scored their first goals of the season on Tuesday.

Dubuque was led on offense by Michael Julius' four goals. Goalkeeper Kyle Mullins allowed 27 goals and made 21 saves while leading the team in ground balls with five.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan will travel to Greencastle, Ind. for a 6 p.m. CT game against DePauw University on Thursday, March 22. The Tigers currently own a 3-5 record on the season and have lost three straight.