Kodiak Creative

Men’s Lacrosse Hosts Carthage for CCIW Semifinal

IWU owns No. 1 seed, Carthage No. 4

4/30/2024 10:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team is set to host Carthage College Wednesday, May 1 for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Semifinal game. The Titans claimed the No. 1 seed after locking in their sixth straight undefeated conference season with a 29-4 win over Carroll University on Saturday to earn the CCIW Regular Season title outright. Carthage comes into the tournament as the No. 4 seed.

After taking down the Pioneers Saturday, April 27, IWU moved to an 11-3 overall record, 5-0 in CCIW play, and is currently on a nine-game winning streak. A total of 21 Titans contributed to the 29 goals scored while the freshmen duo of Jake Kahoun (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) and Timothy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) led the way with six and five points, respectively. Kahoun had a team-high five goals and one assist while McHugh did what he does best, dishing a team-lead three assists and added two goals.

Freshman Reese Hack (Minneapolis, Minn.-The Blake School) and senior Alex Oximana (Seattle, Wash.-Bishop Blanchet) shared the team-high four ground balls while Oximana also racked up six saves in 30 minutes between the pipes before senior Sam Scott (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) relieved him for the second half totaling two saves.

Illinois Wesleyan's 17.57 goals per game is the conference-leading mark by a wide margin with the second-highest average being 14.80. IWU leads in per-game averages for points (27.64), assists (10.07), shots (56.07), shots on goal (33.07), man-up goals (2.71), ground balls (43.36), and caused turnovers (11.29). The Titans' 27.64 points per game rank eighth in Division III this season and their 10.07 assists per game is the 14th-highest average across the nation.

Individually, McHugh leads the league with 2.42 assists per game and ranks 26th nationally.

Carthage is carrying an 8-8, 2-3 CCIW record into Wednesday's matchup as the No. 4 seed in the tournament. IWU and Carthage met just over two weeks ago on April 13, when the Titans defeated the Firebirds 18-15 on Carthage's home turf. Sophomore Noah Dretzka (Delafield, Wis.-Kettle Moraine) had a career day against the Firebirds with seven points on five goals and two assists. Since the 2014 season, IWU and CC have gone head-to-head 14 times with the Green and White leading 9-5 in the all-time series.

Wednesday's CCIW Tournament Semifinal under the lights of Tucci Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. Admission will be cash only and is as follows:

Adults	$10
Seniors 65+, students, children ages 6-14	$5
Children ages 5 and under	Free
Current CCIW Students with valid institution ID	Free
No CCIW Lacrosse Event Passes accepted

No. 2 Elmhurst University will host No. 3 North Central College for another CCIW Semifinal game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Winners of both games will meet up in the CCIW Championship on Saturday, May 5.

Make sure to follow along with everything IWU men's lacrosse on Twitter (@iwu_mlax) and Instagram (iwu.mlax).

Print Friendly Version