Men’s Lacrosse Surges Past Spartans for Third Straight Win
AURORA, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University men’s lacrosse team overpowered Aurora University, 16-7, on the road Wednesday night, March 29, as the team picked up its third straight win. The Titans boosted their record to 6-3, while the Spartans slipped to 4-4.
Junior Trystan Seeley (Castle Rock, Colo.-Castle View) and senior Carson Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview) put up six points apiece to lead the Green and White. Seeley finished with a team-high four goals and added a pair of assists, while Kiichle tallied three goals and a team-best three assists. Junior Gage Black (Peoria, Ill.-Dunlap) also added a hat trick, while senior Connor Kiihcle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview) tallied two goals and a helper.
Defensively, IWU forced 27 AU turnovers, 12 of which were caused. Senior Blake Muschewske (Excelsior, Minn.-Holy Family Catholic) forced four miscues, while junior Michael Campagna (Arlington Heights, Ill.-St. Viator) tallied two. Five other players were credited with one each.
The Titans struck first as Seeley found Black for the game’s first goal, but the Spartans scored twice in the final five and a half minutes of the first period to take a 2-1 lead.
Seeley opened the second with a goal before assisting on a score by junior Ike Eastburn (Colorado Springs, Colo.-Cheyenne Mountain) to push IWU ahead, 3-2, at the 9:01 mark of the second quarter. A pair of Black goals, the second of which was highlight worthy, sandwiched an Aurora goal to give the Green and White a 5-3 edge at halftime.
?? “Are you kidding me?” ??
Gage Black with the #SCTop10 goal as @iwu_mlax overpowers Aurora 16-7 ??#TGOE | #d3lax | @SportsCenter | @NCAADIII pic.twitter.com/irESFX1ldO
— Illinois Wesleyan Athletics (@iwusports) March 30, 2023
The Titans attack picked things up in the third, scoring four unanswered goals to break the game open, 9-3. The Spartans chipped away with three over the last 2:18 of the period, but IWU held a 9-6 advantage into the final 15 minutes.
Junior Bob Boone (San Diego, Calif.-Notre Dame) and Connor Kiichle capitalized off assists from Carson Kiichle to start the fourth. After AU scored its lone tally of the quarter, Boone returned the favor with an assist on Carson Kiichle’s man-up goal. The strike proved to be the first of five straight by the Titans as IWU ran away with a 16-7 victory.
Illinois Wesleyan wraps up a three-game roadtrip with its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener at Carroll University Saturday, April 1. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Schneider Stadium in Waukesha, Wis.
