Titans to Tangle with Augie Saturday
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With a three-game roadtrip in the rearview mirror, the Illinois Wesleyan University men’s lacrosse team hosts Augustana College Saturday, April 8, at Tucci Stadium. Game time is slated for 12 p.m. and will be part of the athletic department’s annual St. Jude day, raising money for the organization through 50-50 raffles and shirt sales.
IWU heads into the game on a four-game win streak and carries a 7-3 record (1-0 CCIW). The Titans most recently clobbered Carroll, 19-3, April 1. Augie is even at 5-5 on the year, but is off to an 0-1 start to league play. The Vikings dropped their CCIW opener at Elmhurst, 18-4, April 5.
Saturday will serve as the 12th all-time meeting between the two CCIW foes, with IWU holding a 9-2 lead in the all-time series. Augustana won the first two meetings, defeating Illinois Wesleyan twice in 2015, but has seen the Green and White win nine straight in the series since. The Titans took home a 20-7 victory the last time the two met April 13, 2022, as the Kiichle brothers combined for 11 points. Connor Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview) went for three goals and four assists, while Carson Kiichle (Vancouver, Was.-Skyview) added a hat trick and an assist.
The twin duo has paced IWU this season as well, as Carson Kiichle tops the team with 47 points and 27 assists. His 20 goals are fourth-most on the team. Connor Kiichle has 38 points on the year, via 21 goals and 17 assists. Juniors Ike Eastburn (Colorado Springs, Ill.-Cheyenne Mountain) and Gage Black (Peoria, Ill.-Dunlap) have put up 27 and 24 goals to rank first and second on the team, respectively.
On defense, senior Blake Muschewske (Excelsior, Minn.-Holy Family Catholic) has disrupted the opposition. He leads IWU with 17 caused turnovers, with junior Michael Campagna (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Saint Viator) second with 15.
Sophomore Nick Schroeder (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) has maintained his stronghold at the X, winning 73.5 percent of his faceoffs. Schroeder, who has gone 114-for-155 at the X, leads the team with 60 ground balls.
The goalkeeping duo of sophomore Colin Tervo (West Linn, Ore.-West Linn) and junior Alex Oximana (Seattle, Wash.-Bishop Blanchet) lead the way between the posts. Tervo is 5-2 on the season with 77 saves, an 11.30 goals against average, and a .513 save percentage. Oximana checks in with 23 saves, an 11.50 GAA, and a save percentage of .500.
Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana are scheduled to get underway at noon at Tucci Stadium. Links to the live stream and live stats will be available on the men’s lacrosse schedule page of iwusports.com.
