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Owen Miller with the ball against Southwestern Sunday, Feb. 15
ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO
13
Winner Southwestern (Tex.) SOUTHWES 2-0, 0-0
12
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 1-1, 0-0
Winner
Southwestern (Tex.) SOUTHWES
2-0, 0-0
13
Final
12
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
1-1, 0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Southwestern (Tex.) SOUTHWES 3 2 3 5 13
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 2 1 5 4 12

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Drops Heartbreaker to Southwestern

Titans record program-best 32 caused turnovers

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion Sunday afternoon, Feb. 15. The Titans fell to Southwestern University, 13-12, to stumble to 1-1 on the season, while the Pirates upped their record to 2-0. With IWU in the lead with just under seven minutes to play, Southwestern net the last two goals to jump in front of the Green and White for the win.

The loss snapped Illinois Wesleyan's 27-game home win streak. A stretch that dated back more than 1000 days, as the Titans' previous home loss came at the hands of Rhodes College, 17-13, Feb. 19, 2023. It was the longest active home win streak among Division III, and finishes as tied for the 10th-longest all-time.

Sophomore Owen Miller (Brookfield, Wis.-Brookfield Central) led the IWU offense with three points, as he finished with two goals and the first assist of his career. Freshman Brody Jones (Boring, Ore.-West Linn), and juniors Jake Kahoun (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) and Timothy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) each totaled a pair of points. Kahoun and Timothy McHugh net two goals apiece, while Jones' points came on a goal and an assist. 

At the X, senior Michael Rocco (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) went 10-for-19, while sophomore Matt Arnold (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) was 3-for-9. Sophomore goalie Jaymeson Zackery (Saint Paul, Minn.-Eastview) led the team with six ground balls, followed by five from Rocco, senior Karsten Nordlie (Roscoe, Ill.-Hononegah Community), and sophomore Wyatt Hart (Littleton, Colo.-Valor Christian). 

The Titan defense saw Zackery post a career-high six caused turnovers, the most on the team. Seniors Billy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) and Kaden Gammelgaard (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) each added five. 

Logging all 60 minutes in goal, Zackery made 10 saves. The loss drops the sophomore's record to 1-1 on the season.

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan finished with the advantage in shots (52-32), shots on goal (34-23), ground balls (53-50), and went 27-of-32 on clear attempts, compared to SU's 20-of-32 showing. The big edge for the Pirates came in the saves column, as they made 22 stops to IWU's 10. Southwestern also won 15 faceoffs, while the Titans finished with 13. The 32 caused turnovers by the Titans is the most in a single game in program history, besting the previous mark of 30 set April 27, 2019 against Carroll University.

Trailing 7-4 with 8:18 on the clock in the third period, sophomore Jeremy Langosch (Grayslake, Ill.-Warren Township) forced a turnover to get the Titans in transition. Freshman Lucas Patterson (Skokie, Ill.-Notre Dame College Prep) buried the first goal of his young career to make the Pirates pay for the miscue, cutting the deficit to two with just under eight minutes remaining in the third. 

SU pushed its lead back to three, but Miller scooped up a ground ball off his own shot and did not miss twice, sparking a run for the Titans. Kahoun cut the deficit to one with a goal, and a penalty on the visitors gave IWU another scoring opportunity to end the third. Miers caused a turnover to get the Green and White the ball, and sophomore Charlie Burghardt (Milwaukee, Wis.-Brookfield Central) evened the game at eight with a man-up goal. 

Coming out of the gates quick to start the fourth quarter, Billy McHugh found his brother Timothy McHugh for a goal to give the home team its first lead of the day, 9-8, with 14:03 to play. Miller found Jones for a goal less than a minute later to make it a two-score game, causing Southwestern to call timeout.

The Pirates fought back to tie it at 10, and while looking to take the lead, Gammelgaard forced a turnover, and Jones picked up the ground ball, quickly racing up the field. The Titans wasted no time, as Jones sent a pass to Billy McHugh for a goal, making it 11-10 with 7:35 on the clock. 

Southwestern once again answered shortly after to tie it at 11. The ensuing faceoff saw Rocco scoop up the ground ball for a win and score, putting Illinois Wesleyan back out in front, 12-11, with 6:51 remaining.

The goal would be the last for the Titans, as the Pirates found the back of the net twice to retake the lead, 13-12, with 2:10 to play. Despite multiple possessions, turnovers spurned the home team as Illinois Wesleyan could not get a clean shot off in the final minutes.

IWU remains at home to take on Aurora University Saturday, Feb. 21. Action is set to begin at 2 p.m. and will follow the season opener for the Titan women's lacrosse team at 11 a.m.
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