Jack Sweeney, Sports Writer
Men’s
The men’s lacrosse team kicked off their second season in school history this past Friday at Aurora, in freezing conditions.
After being predicted to finish third in the CCIW, the Titans were looking to get off to a good start.
The Titans went up early with a goal from first-year James Maibuecher, but that would be the only time the Titans held the lead. At halftime, Aurora held an 11-5 lead that the Wesleyan men would not be able to overcome. The final from Vago Field was 16-10 in favor of the home team.
Sophomore Michael Julius scored 5 goals, but it was not enough to get past the Aurora men. First-years Nick Winter and Maibuecher both had two scores of their own and sophomore Tim Smith had the lone assist. The Titans were outshot 56-36 and only won nine of 30 face-offs.
The Titans will look to bounce back Tuesday evening in their home opener against DePaul.
“We want to play faster and more consistently. When we are able to pass the ball efficiently and shoot with a positive percentage, we feel we are a very hard team to beat. We want to really focus on these things going into the game Tuesday” said Smith.
The men’s next game is at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 at Tucci Stadium.
Women’s
The Illinois Wesleyan women’s lacrosse team began their first season in school history Saturday, Feb. 21 against Cornell College. The women played in very cold conditions for their home opener.
It did not take long for the Titans to score the first ever goal in school history. Only 25 seconds into the game Maggie Krause put the Titans on the board.
Maisie Cox was credited with the first assist in women’s lacrosse history on the second goal of the game; the pass was made to Clarke Rich who put it in the back of the net giving the Titans a 2-0 lead.
At halftime the women led 7-2, and only gave up one more goal the rest of the game. The final from Tucci Stadium was 11-3, officially making Titan history.
The Titans were outshot 23-19, but were able to maximize their shot opportunities. Sophomore Maggie Krause scored four goals along with teammate Clarke Riche. Juniors Maisie Cox and Lauren Pavich time for a team-high two assists in the game.
Composed of 10 first-year students, the team’s foundation is set for the future. With three juniors and no seniors, the team has the unique ability to develop continuity over the next two seasons without losing any players to graduation.
“I thought it would be fun to try something new and help get the program started. The main reason I wanted to play was because of Coach Rosecrans and Coach Batty” junior Lauren Pavich said. “Their passion and love for not only the game but each individual on the team made me want to be apart of the family they were creating.”
The Women look to keep the streak going at Benedictine on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 5:00 p.m.