Brooke Ayres on defense against Edgewood March 1, 2025

Kodiak Creative

Women’s Lacrosse Hosts UW-La Crosse For Wednesday Clash

Titans hosts Eagles for 3:30 p.m. tilt at Tucci

3/4/2025 10:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's lacrosse team hosts University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for a Wednesday afternoon contest, March 3. Action is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. inside Tucci Stadium, and will serve as the first leg of a doubleheader with the men's lacrosse team, which hosts Wabash College at 6:30 p.m.

The Titans (3-1) most recently defeated Lake Forest College, 11-8, Sunday, March 2. Junior Carleigh Fountain (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) led the team with four points, coming on a team-high three goals, while fellow junior Anelise DiGiovanni (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township) totaled a team-best two assists. Freshman Brooke Ayres (Sun Prairie, Wis.-Sun Prairie East) pioneered the defense, finishing with four caused turnovers. Senior Avery Setzler (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) scooped up six ground balls, and junior Sadie Newton (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) notched a team-high three draw controls. Senior Lizzie Rymarcsuk (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Saint Viator) registered the win in goal, as she made six saves to go along with three ground balls in the 60 minutes of action.

Setzler and Fountain lead the offense through four games, having totaled 14 and 13 points, respectively. Senior Mia Fiandaca (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) is third with 12 points, all via a team-leading 12 goals. Setzler follows with 11, and Fountain's nine goals round out the top three. Newton and DiGiovanni lead the team in assists, as the duo has five apiece. Fiandaca and Newton have each secured a team-high 20 draw controls, followed by Setzler with five.

Defensively, Fiandaca is second in the nation in caused turnovers per game, as her 27 caused turnovers on the season comes out to an average of 6.75 per contest. Newton is second with nine, followed by freshman Carly Bajusz (Naperville, Ill.-Naperville North) with seven. The trio has helped lead an Illinois Wesleyan defense that ranks seventh in Division III in caused turnovers per game with an average of 19.75. Fiandaca also leads the team in ground balls, having scooped up 25, averaging 6.25 per game, the 15th-best average nationally. Setzler is second with 19 ground balls, and Newton sits third with 13.

Rymarcsuk leads the team in goal, having logged 210 minutes in between the iron this season. The senior has made 19 saves on a .452 save percentage, and has a goals against average of 6.57 en route to a 3-1 record on the season.

IWU will face UW-La Crosse (0-2) for the third time, with the inaugural meeting occurring in 2022. The two teams have split the contests, and UWL took the most recent matchup, 20-14, March 23, 2024. Britney Maldonado led the team with four points on four goals, while Setzler caused a team-best five turnovers. Fiandaca finished with a team-high eight draw controls, and then-junior Bri Kiser (Crown Point, Ind.-Crown Point) made five saves in goal for the Titans. The Eagles most recently fell to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe Carthage College, 15-8, Saturday, March 1.

A live stream of the game can be accessed by clicking here, while live stats can be tracked here.

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