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Men's Lacrosse Seniors 2022 with CCIW Trophy
15
Elmhurst ELMHURST 10-6, 2-4 CCIW
25
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 11-4, 6-0 CCIW
Elmhurst ELMHURST
10-6, 2-4 CCIW
15
Final
25
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
11-4, 6-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Elmhurst ELMHURST 4 2 1 8 15
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10 6 5 4 25

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Wins Fourth CCIW Regular Season Title

Smith moves into second on IWU’s all-time scoring list

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team won its fourth straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship Saturday, April 30, with a 25-15 win over Elmhurst University at Tucci Stadium. The win completed IWU's undefeated league season as the Titans now sit at 11-4 overall and 6-0 in the CCIW. Meanwhile, Elmhurst dipped to 10-6 on the year and 2-4 in league games.

Illinois Wesleyan used a huge first quarter to topple Elmhurst as the Green and White net 10 first-quarter goals. Senior Griffin DeMilt (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) scored the first goal of the afternoon on a pass from junior Ryan Payne (Mercer Island, Wash.-Mercer Island). Elmhurst answered to even the score, but that was as close as the Bluejays would get as the Titans scored five goals over the final 2:45. Senior Rick Smith (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln Way East) got things rolling with a goal off the pass from fellow senior Daniel Dickerson (Wheaton, Ill.-St. Francis). Smith then assisted on a goal by junior Jaxon Hendrickson (Langley, British Columbia-Westtown), before scoring back-to-back goals himself. His fifth tally pushed his career goal total to 176, surpassing his older brother Tim Smith on the all-time scoring list. 

The Titans expanded on their comfortable, 10-4, lead in the second period as Smith found junior Carson Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview) for a goal just 54 seconds in. Smith then connected with Dickerson to up the IWU advantage to 12-4. Kiichle then went on an assist run, feeding senior Charles Hildestad (Carlock, Ill.-St. Viator), junior Connor Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview), and sophomore Trystan Seeley (Castle Rock, Colo.-Castle View) to increase the lead to double-digits.

The Green and White went on to outscore the Bluejays 5-1 in the third period before running away with a 25-15 victory. 

Smith and Carson Kiichle put together monster games for the Titans, with nine points apiece. Smith scored a game-high five goals, while Kiichle dished out eight helpers. Smith tallied four assists and Kiichle added a goal to round out their big game showings. Hendrickson finished with four goals and Connor Kiichle registered four points on a pair of goals and two assists. 

Defensively, seniors Malcolm Hedgepeth (Houston, Texas-The Kinkaid School), Paul Mucci (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-Bloomfield), and Cole Harden (Terrace Park, Ohio-Mariemont) as well as sophomore Ethan Hart (Littleton, Colo.-J.K. Mullen) and freshman Sam Skelton (Portland, Ore.-Franklin) tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers each. Carson Kiichle grabbed a team-best six ground balls, with Dickerson scooping up four. 

At the X, senior Zac Taylor (Brighton, Mich.-Brighton) went 19-for-25 and freshman Nick Schroeder (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) went 6-for-11. Sophomore Alex Oximana (Seattle, Wash.-Bishop Blanchet) made 11 saves and earned the win, while freshman Colin Tervo (West Linn, Ore.-West Linn) made four stops in relief. 

The Titans will host Transylvania University in a CCIW Tournament Semifinal game Friday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. The winner of Friday's game will then meet the winner of the semifinal between No. 2 seeded Carthage and No. 3 seed North Central in the championship game, May 8.
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