Men’s Lacrosse Clips Cardinals in Double OT, Earns Share of CCIW Regular Season Title
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Junior Trystan Seeley’s (Castle Rock, Colo.-Castle View) goal with six seconds left in regulation sent the Illinois Wesleyan University men’s lacrosse team to overtime at North Central College Wednesday night, April 26. After a scoreless first extra period, Seeley scored 13 seconds into the second OT frame to secure a 15-14 win over the Titans. With the victory, IWU boosted its record to 11-3 (5-0 CCIW) and clinched a share of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship. NCC stumbled to 9-5, 4-1 in the CCIW with the setback.
Seeley finished with three goals in all, while junior Gage Black (Peoria, Ill.-Dunlap) also added a hat trick. Senior Connor Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview) led the team with four goals, tying junior Bob Boone (Los Angeles, Calif.-Notre Dame) for the team lead with four points. Boone’s four-point effort came via two goals and a pair of assists.
Sophomore Nick Schroeder (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) went 16-for-31 at the x, scooping up a team-best nine ground balls. Senior Blake Muschewske (Excelsior, Minn.-Holy Family Catholic) and junior Michael Campagna (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Saint Viator) added four ground balls apiece. Muschewske also paced the Green and White with a pair of caused turnovers.
Sophomore Colin Tervo (West Linn, Ore.-West Linn) and junior Alex Oximana (Seattle, Wash.-Bishop Blanchet) tallied seven saves each.
Seeley and the Titans struck first, as the junior fired a shot into the back of the goal just under three minutes into the game. North Central responded with around eight and a half minutes left in the period to level the score at one. The equalizer proved to be the start of a five-goal run by NCC, as the home team grabbed a 5-1 lead 15 minutes into the game.
After a shifty pass from juniorIke Eastburn (Colorado Springs, Colo.-Cheyenne Mountain), Connor Kiichle ended the run with the first goal of the second quarter. The senior attacker buried a shot while taking a hit to cut the deficit to three. The play proved pivotal as Black scored 30 seconds later to pull the Titans within two, 5-3.
North Central answered with a goal off a rebound to charge ahead by three, 6-3, with 12 minutes left in the half. Following the score, Black weaved his way through a few Cardinals and ripped a shot which was saved, but Eastburn was there to clean things up to make it 6-4 in favor of NCC.
The Green and White worked itself into a man-up opportunity and took full advantage as Carson Kiichle threw a pass into Boone near the crease. A quick fake was followed by a shot low and inside the post to make it a one-goal game, 6-5, before Black’s second goal of the night tied the game at six.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead out of a timeout, scoring with 48 seconds on the clock, to take a 7-6 edge into halftime.
Two goals by each team kept the game within one as North Central carried a 9-8 lead into the final quarter.
Senior Mason Barney (New Haven, Ind.-R. Nelson Snider), off an assist from freshman Karsten Nordlie (Roscoe, Ill.-Hononegah Community), and Boone scored four minutes apart to knot the game at 11 with 6:15 left in regulation. The tie was short-lived though, as North Central answered off the ensuing faceoff to go up, 12-11.
North Central held a one-goal lead into the final minute, using a goal with 1:23 left to reclaim the advantage. A long rip from Seeley with six seconds on the clock leveled the score and forced overtime at 14-14.
Four extra minutes was not enough, as the game went to a second OT period with the score knotted at 14. Just 13 seconds in, Seeley deked out his defender with a shot fake that created enough space for the junior to get off the game-winner.
Illinois Wesleyan closes out the regular season Saturday, April 29, with a 1 p.m. bout against Carthage College. The game will serve as Senior Day for the Titans who will recognize the senior class pregame.
