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IWU women's lax took a hard loss against CCIW opponent Carthage on April 18, 2026
A Peterson Photo
10
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 6-10, 2-3
9
Elmhurst ELM 4-11, 0-5
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
6-10, 2-3
10
Final
9
Elmhurst ELM
4-11, 0-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4 0 4 2 10
Elmhurst ELM 2 0 2 5 9

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse |

Women’s Lacrosse Fends Off Bluejays in Regular Season Finale

Titans earn CCIW Tournament berth with victory

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's lacrosse team held off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Elmhurst University Saturday afternoon, April 25, at Langhorst Field. The Titans (6-10, 2-3) clinched a spot as the No. 4 seed in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament with a 10-9 victory over the Bluejays (4-11, 0-6).

Sophomore Sophie Shore (St. Peters, Mo.-Francis Howell Central) gave the Titans an early lead under a minute into the game. Senior Sarah Riepe (Aurora, Ill.-St. Francis) won the first draw of the game for the Green and White.Sophomore Lillie Keeton (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington)  found the ball and quickly whipped it to Shore for an early 1-0 Titan lead. 

Elmhurst responded to tie up the game a few minutes later, but senior Sadie Newton (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) took control of the remainder of the first quarter. Newton netted three consecutive goals on assists from senior Anelise DiGiovanni (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township) and junior Chloe Heyl (Houston, Texas-Emery/Weiner). 

EU scored once more to end the first quarter as the Titans enjoyed a 4-2 lead headed into the second period. 

Five saves in the second quarter from sophomore Titan goalkeeper Marli Brown (Kansas City, Mo.-Notre Dame de Sion) kept the score consistent, 4-2, headed into the halftime break. 

Newton struck again following an IWU timeout with the ball in the Green and White's possession in the midst of the third period for her fourth goal of the day. Quickly afterwards, Newton forced an EU turnover to set up the IWU offensive. Heyl found the back of the net with five minutes remaining in the third period to give IWU a 7-3 advantage. 

Elmhurst's Alannah Williams and sophomore Maddie Gibson (Fenton, Mo.-Rockwood Summit) traded scores at the end of the third period to make it 8-4 in favor of the Titans. 

Illinois Wesleyan led for much of the game, with goals by Gibson and Heyl giving the Titans a five-goal cushion, 9-4, early in the fourth quarter. The lead marked IWU's largest of the day and came with 13:32 to play.

Elmhurst responded, showing the game was far from over with IWU's conference tournament fate hanging in the balance. The Bluejays found the back of the net twice in a 90-second span to trim the Titan lead to three, 9-6. Keeton extended the lead to 10-6 with 10:27 remaining, but the Titan defense did not receive any assistance the remainder of the game. IWU fended off three EU goals in the final minutes of the game to come away with the 10-9 victory. 

Brown captained the Titan defense that held off a fierce group of Bluejays. The sophomore  finished the day with 12 saves and earned the win following all 60 minutes in goal. Shore established a new career-high in ground balls with nine, which led the Titans. Gibson, Newton, and Brown each finished with three ground balls. Newton and Shore shared the team-lead with two caused turnovers each. 

Newton led the Green and White with four goals, while Heyl tacked on two. Keeton also finished with two goals. Heyl had a team-high in assists with two, giving herself four points on the day to share the team-lead with Newton.  

With the win, IWU punches its ticket into the CCIW Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Titans will await the No. 1 seed, Carthage College or Carroll University, who are set to battle for the top seed later today. The semifinal dual will take place in Kenosha or Waukesha, Wis. Wednesday, April 29. 

 
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