Men’s Lacrosse Hosts Aurora for First Round of NCAA Tournament
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University men’s lacrosse team will host Aurora University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Wednesday, May 10. Action is set to begin at 3 p.m. inside Tucci Stadium, with the winner advancing to play Denison University in Granville, Ohio Saturday, May 13, at 4 p.m. ET.
The Titans (14-3) enter the contest after defeating Transylvania University, 14-11, in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship Saturday, May 6. IWU was powered by seniors Carson Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview) and Connor Kiichle (Vancouver, Wash.-Skyview), who each produced a five-point game. Carson Kiichle broke the single-season assist record, as he notched his 52nd helper on the first goal of the match.
Aurora (15-4), the Northern Athletics College Conference Tournament Champion, most recently defeated Illinois Institute of Technology, 22-4, Saturday, May 6, to clinch its spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This will mark the second meeting this season between the two teams, and 11th all-time. Illinois Wesleyan owns a 6-4 all-time series record, and won the battle earlier this season, March 29, 16-7. Junior Trystan Seeley (Castle Rock, Colo.-Castle View) and Carson Kiichle each finished with six points. Seeley scored a match-high four goals, while Carson Kiichle and junior Gage Black (Peoria, Ill.-Dunlap) both finished with a hat trick.
Carson Kiichle leads the Titan offense with 87 points on 35 goals and 52 assists, both of which are team-highs. His 3.06 assists per game average is the ninth-best in the nation. Connor Kiichle has posted 69 points on 39 goals and 30 helpers, while Seeley and junior Bob Boone (Los Angeles, Calif.-Notre Dame) each have 47 points.
Defensively, IWU has been led by junior Michael Campagna (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Saint Viator) and senior Blake Muschewske (Excelsior, Minn.-Holy Family Catholic). Campagna enters the match with a team-best 27 caused turnovers and has scooped up 56 ground balls. Muschewske has caused 26 turnovers while adding 33 ground balls to his stat line.
Sophomore Nick Schroeder (Waunakee, Wis.-Waunakee) has dominated at the X, as he enters Wednesday having gone 206-for-319 in faceoffs, a win percentage of .646, which is the 26th-best percentage nationally. Schroeder leads the Green and White with 110 ground balls, and his average of 8.46 ground balls per game is 35th in the nation. As a team, the Titans are fifth nationally with 813 ground balls on the season.
In between the posts, sophomore Colin Tervo (West Linn, Ore.-West Linn) has compiled a 10-2 record in 598 minutes. The sophomore has been credited with 125 saves on a .521 save percentage. Junior Alex Oximana (Seattle, Wash.-Bishop Blanchet) has recorded 334 minutes between the iron, and has saved 79 shots on a .564 clip.
A live stream of the game, along with live stats, are available under the men’s lacrosse schedule page on iwusports.com.
