Men's lacrosse huddle against North Central April 4, 2026

Audrey Peterson

CCIW Tournament Championship on Deck for Men’s Lacrosse

Titans travel to Elmhurst for tournament title game

5/1/2026 12:03:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After securing a spot in its fourth straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship game, the No. 3 seed Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team heads to top-seeded Elmhurst University for the title bout Saturday, May 2. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. at Langhorst Field.

The Titans (11-6, 3-2 CCIW) got revenge against Carthage College Wednesday night, April 29, ending the second-seeded Firebirds' season with a 19-6 road victory. The Green and White's offense was led by a career-high six goals and seven points from sophomore Jack Vander Kooi (Buffalo, Minn.-Buffalo). Junior Timothy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) led the distribution side of the offense with three assists. Senior Karsten Nordlie (Roscoe, Ill.-Hononegah Community) scooped up a team-best 10 ground balls, shattering his previous career-high. Senior Billy McHugh (Orland Park, Ill.-Mount Carmel) guided a potent defense with three caused turnovers, while sophomore Jaymeson Zackery (Saint Paul, Minn.-Eastview) notched the win in goal behind eight saves. Senior Michael Rocco (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) and sophomore Matt Arnold (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) made a statement at the X with 12 and 11 wins, respectively, while IWU finished 25-of-29 in the circle..

Timothy McHugh has led the offense all season, holding team-highs of 34 goals, 36 assists, and 70 points. Fellow junior Jake Kahoun (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) follows with 26 goals and is tied for second on the team in points (31) with sophomore Owen Miller (Brookfield, Wis.-Brookfield Central). Freshman Holden Webster's (Centennial, Colo.-Arapahoe) 21 goals put him at third. Sophomore Charlie Burghardt (Milwaukee, Wis.-Brookfield Central) follows Timothy McHugh in assists with 18 helpers, while senior Noah Dretzka (Delafield, Wis.-Kettle Moraine) rounds out the top three with 11.

At the X, Rocco tops the team with 142 faceoff wins on 241 attempts, good for a .589 win percentage. Arnold follows with a 95-of-170 mark and a .559 win rate. The strong performance has led Rocco to lead the team with 70 ground balls. Nordlie closely follows with 66, and Zackery's 59 are third. Together, the group leads a team that ranks 11th nationally in ground balls (718) and 14th in ground balls per game (42.24).

Defensively, Illinois Wesleyan sits fifth in Division III in caused turnovers per game with an average of 14.29. Billy McHugh leads the team with 39 forced miscues, an average of 2.47 per contest. Nordlie and fellow senior Kaden Gammelgaard (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) follow with 23 and 20, respectively.

In goal, Zackery leads the way with 156 saves across 828:13 minutes between the pipes. He brings in a .525 save percentage and 10.21 goals allowed average with an 11-6 record in goal into Saturday's championship battle.

The Titans will take on the Bluejays (14-3, 5-0 CCIW) for the 18th time, with IWU holding a 15-2 advantage all-time. EU got the best of the Green and White in the regular season, downing the Titans 16-12 Saturday, April 25. Dretzka led the offense with four goals and six points, while Timothy McHugh totaled a team-best three assists. Rocco and Zackery shared the team-lead in ground balls with four apiece, and sophomore Rylee Blair (Marshall, Wis.-Sun Prairie West) tallied a team-best two caused turnovers. Zackery made 10 saves in goal. EU defeated No. 4 seed North Central College Wednesday, April 29, taking down the Cardinals 17-4 to advance to the championship game.

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

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