MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- The Illinois Wesleyan women's lacrosse team's season ended in the third round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships on Saturday, May 19, with an 18-4 loss to No. 4-ranked Middlebury College. This was the program's first ever matchup against a Top 5 opponent in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) rankings.
 
Illinois Wesleyan concludes their season with a program-best 16 wins (16-5 overall), besting the previous mark of 15 set in 2016. Middlebury improved to 18-2 and will move on to the Elite Eight where they will meet No. 8-ranked York (Pa.).
 
A loss marks the conclusion of five careers with seniors Abby Kushina, Claire Quist, Heather Grimmer, Mariah Smith, and Sydney Allen donning Titan Green in action for the final time.
 
Kushina ends as the No. 2 scorer in program history with 166 points (110g – 56a). Quist is Illinois Wesleyan's all-time leader in goalkeeper wins (37), saves (483), and saves per game (7.09), and scored her first career goal against Monmouth in her first appearance on the attack during 2018. A member of the team for two seasons following a stint with the softball program, Grimmer finishes with nine goals and 13 ground balls.
 
The final two seniors, Mariah Smith and Sydney Allen, hadn't played organized lacrosse before joining the inaugural team in 2015, but carved out integral roles on the team for four seasons. Smith was named as the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's "Defensive Player of the Year" in 2018 and finishes with 34 goals, 18 assists, 186 ground balls, and 184 draw controls. Allen was a four-year starter for the Titans on defense and finishes with 64 ground balls and 32 caused turnovers.
 
IWU was held scoreless for the first 26:40 of the contest before Mariah Smith scored her first of three goals on the afternoon to put IWU on the board, with assists from Kushina and junior Grainne Kelly. Junior Dani Engelbreit added the Titans third goal of the game with 10:50 remaining in the second half. Smith scored the Titans fourth and final goal of the game with 2:38 remaining in regulation.

IWU was held to just eight shots during the contest and were 9-of-14 on clearance attempts. The Titans drew nearly even with the Panthers on the draw control, winning 11-of-24. Middlebury capitalized on 12 free-positon shots to score five of their 18 goals.
 
TITAN TEAM LEADERS
Points: Smith (3), Engelbreit (1), Kelly (1), Kushina (1)
Goals: Smith (3), Engelbreit (1)
Assists: Kushina (1), Kelly (1)
Ground Balls: Engelbreit (1), Kushina (1)
Draw Controls: Engelbreit (5), Kelly (4)
Saves: Janaye Godfrey (12), Quist (1)