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2025 CCIW Men's Lacrosse Tournament Champions
13
Elmhurst ELMHURST 13-3
16
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 14-2
Elmhurst ELMHURST
13-3
13
Final
16
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
14-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Elmhurst ELMHURST 4 3 2 4 13
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4 3 4 5 16

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Completes Three-Peat as CCIW Tournament Champs

Titans earn automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament Saturday, May 3, as the Titans topped second-seeded Elmhurst University, 16-13, inside Tucci Stadium in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship. It marked IWU's CCIW-leading seventh league tournament championship overall and the third straight for the Green and White. With the win, Illinois Wesleyan boosted its record to 14-2 overall, while Elmhurst fell to 13-3.

Senior Colin Tervo (West Linn, Ore.-West Linn) put together an incredible day in goal, thwarting a dangerous Elmhurst attack. Tervo made a program record 23 saves in the game, the most since Will Harris tied the then record of 22 against Southwestern March 29, 2021. He was credited with the win in goal, pushing his record to 13-2 on the season. With 196 saves on the year, he also broke the program's record for most stops in a single season.

Tervo's efforts were aided by strong defense all around. Junior Karsten Nordlie (Roscoe, Ill.-Hononegah Community) forced three turnovers and junior Kade Miers (Cincinnati, Ohio-Xavier) and senior Bobby Conroy (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University High) added two caused miscues each. 

Leading the Illinois Wesleyan offense, junior Noah Dretzka (Delafield, Wis.-Kettle Moraine) and sophomore Jake Kahoun (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) finished with four points apiece. Kahoun notched a team-high three goals with an assist, while Dretzka tallied an even two goals and a team-leading two assists.

Facing one of the best faceoff guys in the nation, senior Nick Schroeder (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) went 14-for-26 and scooped up a team-high nine ground balls. Tervo finished with six ground balls, while fifth-year Gage Black (Peoria, Ill.-Dunlap) and junior Billy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) added five ground balls apiece.

The two teams traded four-goal runs over the opening 15 minutes as the Titans came out with the first punch. After a key save by Tervo, senior Sam Skelton (Portland, Ore.-Franklin) scored off a dish from sophomore Timothy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel), and then a goal by freshman Carlo Adams (Knoxville, Tenn.-West) off Schroeder's faceoff win lifted IWU to a 2-0 edge just over a minute into the game.

Illinois Wesleyan withstood a two-man advantage for Elmhurst as junior Sam Scott (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) made two big saves while IWU had two players in the box. The crucial stops by Scott in between the pipes sparked the Titan offense as fifth-year Bob Boone (Los Angeles, Calif-Notre Dame) buried a goal for a 3-0 advantage. Moments later, Black battled through a triple team before uncorking a shot to up the lead to 4-0.

Elmhurst used a four-goal spurt of its own, including the final one with 27.6 seconds left in the period, to even the score at 4-4 into the second quarter.

The Bluejays momentum carried over into the next 15 minutes, as EU scored the first three goals of the period to break open a 7-4 lead.

Needing to end the run, Schroeder won the ensuing faceoff and found Kahoun, who net his first goal of the game to cut the deficit to two, 7-5, with 6:24 remaining in the first half. 

With under a minute to play, freshman Rylee Blair (Marshall, Wis.-Sun Prairie West) came up big, as he forced a turnover to get the offense going. Following the successful clear, senior Sam Weinberg (Highwood, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) hit Dretzka with a pass, and the junior's shot found the back of the net to bring the score within one, 7-6, at the 33 second mark. A clutch Tervo save off the faceoff quickly set up the Green and White offense again. Tervo dished the ball out to B. McHugh, who raced down the length of the field and neutralized the game at seven goals apiece with 13 seconds left in the half. 

Illinois Wesleyan struck first in the second half as a stout defensive play by Miers forced a turnover. IWU made the most of the extra possession as T. McHugh wrapped around the crease for a score and an 8-7 Titan edge.

After a turnover in IWU's defensive zone, EU looked poised to score with a one-on-one opportunity, but Tervo's stellar day continued, this time stopping a point blank shot to keep the Titans ahead, 8-7. 

The save kept the momentum in favor of the home team, as IWU scored on the offensive possession. A wide shot saw Black scoop up the rebound and immediately hit Weinberg on the opposite side of the crease, making it a two-score game, 9-7, with 11:14 remaining in the third period. 

Illinois Wesleyan stayed on the gas, as the Titans scored the next two goals to pull ahead. With 7:32 on the clock, Dretzka found fifth-year Ike Eastburn (Colorado Springs, Colo.-Cheyenne Mountain), who shoveled a shot past the EU goalie for a goal. Elmhurst won the faceoff to follow, but Tervo made back-to-back saves, and Miers scooped up the ground ball to get IWU back on offense. Transitioning from defense to offense, Miers fed Weinberg for a goal to bring the score to 11-7 with 5:14 left to play in the third. 

A man-up goal by Elmhurst ended the four-goal Titan run, and the Bluejays buried their next shot off the faceoff to bring it back within two, 11-9, with just over four minutes to go in the period.

Nordlie forced a turnover to give the Green and White the final shot of the third quarter, but Dretzka's attempt went high to close the period at 11-9 in favor of the Titans. 

Schroeder won the faceoff to begin the fourth quarter, and sent the ball over to Kahoun. After working around his defender, the sophomore ripped a shot into the back of the net, making it 12-9 with 14:28 remaining in the game. 

Trading good defensive stops, Kahoun set up shop once again on offense. This time, he found Black, who laced one in for a goal to give the Green and White a 13-9 advantage. A penalty put the Titans down a player, but Kahoun stayed hot, as he net a man-down goal off an assist from Dretzka, making it 14-9, and forcing Elmhurst to call timeout with 9:10 left to play for the title.

The break looked to work for the Bluejays, as the visitors scored the next three goals, two coming on a man-up opportunity, to reel the Titans' edge back to two, 14-12. Taking on the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year at the X, Schroeder won a crucial faceoff to reignite the IWU offense. Sending the ball off to Dretzka, the junior found a hole in the EU defense for a goal to push the lead back up to three, 15-12, with just over three minutes remaining.

Elmhurst won the following draw, but an errant pass gave the Green and White possession quickly after. The Titans used the miscue to their advantage, as senior Nick Horrocks (Boulder, Colo.-Fairview) drove the ball the length of the field and ripped one in for his first goal of the season. The score put Illinois Wesleyan ahead 16-12 at the 2:45 mark, and solidified the win. 

The Bluejays struck once more, but Nordlie came through with another caused turnover to keep the home team in control. With time dwindling down, Tervo made one last save, giving him the program records, as the Titans began to celebrate their third straight CCIW Tournament Championship.

Illinois Wesleyan earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and will learn its fate during tomorrow's night NCAA Selection Show. The show is set to begin 9 p.m. ET, and a link can be found on the IWU men's lacrosse schedule page on iwusports.com.
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