The Illinois Wesleyan men’s lacrosse team opened the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin season with a 18-17 weekend victory against Transylvania University. Thanks to a strong overtime play, the Titans now stand at 4-4 and 1-0 in the CCIW.
Since the men’s lacrosse team was started in 2014, the Titans have secured a victory in every CCIW opening game. The streak will remain for another year following this week’s opener.
Junior Carson Kiichle provided six points for the Titans with a team-high three goals and three assists. Kiichle’s offensive maneuvers caught the attention of the CCIW, who named him the CCIW Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in his collegiate career.
Kiichle is also one of the big names to thank for the overtime victory pulled out by the Titans. Beside being the top scorer of the day, he provided the pair of goals that tied the Titans 17-all with three seconds to spare in the final quarter.
If Kiichle hadn’t found an opening in the Pioneers’ defense, the Titans would have fallen 15-17. But, Kiichle did not crack under pressure. His back-to-back goals pushed the game into overtime, where he also managed the game-winning goal.
Sophomore Gage Black followed Kiichle in points and led in goals with four shots to the back of the net while senior Thomas Laduzinsky defended Titan territory on defense.
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s lacrosse team plans to keep up the strong gameplay against Aurora University on Saturday, April 2 at 3:30 p.m.