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2024 CCIW Men's Lacrosse Tournament Champions
11
Elmhurst ELM 14-3, 4-1 CCIW
12
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 13-3, 5-0 CCIW
Elmhurst ELM
14-3, 4-1 CCIW
11
Final
12
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
13-3, 5-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F
Elmhurst ELM 3 4 1 3 0 11
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 5 2 2 2 1 12

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Captures CCIW Tournament Championship in OT Thriller

Titans secure league’s automatic bid to NCAA Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A sudden-victory goal by senior Gage Black (Peoria, Ill.-Dunlap) secured the Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship, as the Titans (13-3) defeated Elmhurst University, 12-11, inside Tucci Stadium. With the win, Illinois Wesleyan secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. 

After Elmhurst (14-3) cracked the scoreboard first, Illinois Wesleyan rattled off four straight goals, with a fifth coming via an Elmhurst own goal on an inadvertent pass during a clear. Black connected with freshman Timothy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) for the Titans first goal of the game, evening the score at one apiece. Sophomore Noah Dretzka (Delafield, Wis.-Kettle Moraine) net the next goal, and assisted on the two following, hitting freshman Jake Kahoun (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) and junior Sam Weinberg (Highwood, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) for back-to-back crease shots to take a 4-1 lead with 7:48 remaining in the first. 

EU took the next two goals to decrease the lead to two with just over five minutes left in the first period. The rest of the period remained scoreless, as the Titans saw a 5-3 advantage after the first 15 minutes of action. 

EU net the first score of the second period, but goals from senior Trystan Seeley (Castle Rock, Colo.-Castle View) and Black upped the lead back to three, 7-4, with 9:54 left to play in the first half of action.

On the next possession of the game, senior Michael Campagna (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Saint Viator) blocked a shot around the 8:33 mark, diving in front of the Elmhurst attacker and forcing a shot clock violation for the Bluejays. 

Elmhurst tied the game with 2:19 to conclude the first half of scoring, as both teams sat at seven goals each entering halftime. 

The Bluejays took the lead at the 11:23 mark in the third quarter, capitalizing on a Titan penalty.

Seeley brought the game back into a tie, as he drove down the field before burying one in the back of the net. 

Junior John Kittoe (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) rolled around the crease to get wide open, as McHugh fed a pass from behind the net to beat the shot clock horn, giving the Titans a 9-8 lead. 

With 10 seconds remaining in the third, junior Colin Tervo (West Linn, Ore.-West Linn) came up with a clutch save to end the quarter with a one goal advantage for the Green and White. 

Once again notching the first goal of the quarter to open the fourth, EU evened the game at nine goals each. 

Utilizing a Bluejays penalty, Dretzka sent a pass to Seeley, who ripped one into the top corner from 20 yards out to put IWU back out in front with 10:14 left to play. 

Tervo saved a shot from EU at the 7:24 mark to maintain the Green and White's lead. The junior then made a point-blank save with just over seven minutes remaining, but the Titans could not get the ball out of the defensive end, as Elmhurst tied the contest with 6:38 to go. The Bluejays took an 11-10 lead, as the CCIW Offensive Player of the Year, Eli Spence, gave the visitors the late edge, but IWU was resilient. 

Following an Elmhurst turnover, Black buried a dish from Dretzka to level the score at 11 apiece with 3:02 left to play. The fourth quarter remained scoreless to push the contest into a sudden-victory overtime. 

On one of the biggest possessions of the game, junior Sam Skelton (Portland, Ore.-Franklin) caused a turnover, and Dretzka scooped up the ground ball to set up the Titan offense. Head Coach Zach Iannucci burned a timeout to set up the possession. Like clockwork, McHugh found Black, who scored the most important goal of the game, as IWU secured the CCIW Tournament Championship for the second straight season, 12-11. 

Dretzka led all scorers with five points on one goal and four assists. Black finished with four by way of a trio of goals and a helper. McHugh and Seeley each finished with three, as McHugh notched one goal and two assists, and Seeley posted a hat trick. 

Campagna led the Green and White with six ground balls, while five Titans followed with three apiece. Campagna also led the defense, as he and Skelton finished with a team-high four caused turnovers. Senior Ethan Hart (Littleton, Colo.-J.K. Mullen), who was the recipient of the CCIW's Elite 26 Award, caused three miscues in the contest. 

Elmhurst had the advantage at the X, forcing senior Zo Lombardo (Elgin, Ill.-Saint Viator) to go 7-of-16, and junior Nick Schroeder (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) to go 4-of-10. 

In goal for the Titans, Tervo made an astonishing 18 saves on an impressive .621 save percentage to secure his 13th win of the season. 

With the win, the Titans secure the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse selection show is scheduled for tomorrow evening, May 5, at 9 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.


 
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