NAPERVILLE — The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s lacrosse season remains in the non-conference portion of the schedule, with all six programs still awaiting the start of league play. 
 
Green Momentum: Illinois Wesleyan’s Surge
Illinois Wesleyan enters the weekend on a four-game winning streak after victories over Benedictine, Lake Forest and Baldwin Wallace. The Titans opened the stretch with a 15-3 win over Benedictine last Thursday, followed with a 14-7 road result at Lake Forest last Saturday and added a 15-11 victory over Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday at Tucci Stadium. 
 
Nate Pound led the offense at Lake Forest with five points on three goals and two assists, while Charlie Burghardt recorded three assists and Holden Webster scored three goals. Webster added another three-goal outing against Baldwin Wallace, where Timothy McHugh matched his career high with five goals and added three assists for eight points. Jake Kahoun also contributed three goals and one assist in the win. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan ranks among the national leaders in both total ground balls and ground balls per game. Defensively, the Titans also limited Benedictine to three goals.
 
The Big Picture: Measuring Up on the National Stage
CCIW programs and student-athletes continue to appear prominently in the NCAA Division III statistical rankings through games played on Thursday. 
 
Elmhurst’s Eli Spence ranks among the national leaders in both points per game (6.50, sixth) and assists per game (3.00, 16th). Elmhurst also ranks among the nation’s leaders in fewest turnovers per game (13.8, eighth).  
 
On the defensive end, Illinois Wesleyan has established itself as one of the most disruptive teams in Division III, ranking near the top nationally in caused turnovers per game (17.57, fourth) . 
 
Augustana has also earned national recognition through its man-down defense, which ranks among the best in the country (.938, eighth).
 
Road Warriors: Pioneers’ Weekend Thriller in Verona
Carroll picked up a one-goal road victory last Saturday, defeating Edgewood 10-9 in Verona, Wis. After falling behind 2-0, the Pioneers answered with goals from Ethan Phillips and Zach Szuba, with Szuba also converting a man-up opportunity to give Carroll the lead. 
 
The Pioneers outshot Edgewood 54-30 and collected 60 ground balls. Aiden Klick scored the game-winning goal with 4:20 remaining off an assist from Brady Conwell. Jake Wright played a key role at the faceoff position, winning 20 of 23 draws, while goalkeeper Jonas Malmanger made 10 saves. 
 
Carroll carried that result into the midweek and added a 15-10 road win at Clarke on Thursday.
 
Goalie Gauges: Success Between the Pipes
Play in goal has remained an important factor across the conference this spring. North Central’s Beck Hagen currently leads the CCIW and ranks among the national leaders in save percentage (.603). Hagen’s play helped keep the Cardinals within reach in a 7-5 loss at MSOE last Saturday. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan’s Jaymeson Zackery turned in one of the top individual performances of the week on Wednesday, making a career-high 19 saves against Baldwin Wallace. Elmhurst’s Andrew Lacksonen continues to lead the conference in goals-against average (9.07).
 
Defensive Disruptors: The Art of the Takeaway
Caused turnovers have become a defining statistical category for several CCIW programs. Elmhurst’s Gabe Henry leads the conference and ranks among the national leaders in caused turnovers per game (3.67). 
 
Carthage’s Josh Flores also sits among the nation’s top performers in the category (3.00) and recorded four caused turnovers in the Firebirds’ weather-shortened game at Hope last Friday.
 
Augustana’s Jamar Taylor has also emerged as a key defensive presence, ranking among the top national performers while posting three caused turnovers and four ground balls against Centenary. 
 
Weathering the Storm: Resilience in the Rain
Augustana, Carthage and North Central each faced challenging circumstances over the past week, including strong opponents, narrow margins and weather-related disruptions. Augustana met an unbeaten Centenary squad last Friday and fell 22-4, though freshman Nik Schaafsma scored three goals and Jack Duffy added one goal and one assist. 
 
Carthage’s trip to Michigan was affected by weather, as the Firebirds’ contest at Hope was called early due to lightning and ended in a 15-3 loss. Carthage then dropped a 13-10 decision at Calvin last Saturday before returning home for an 8-7 overtime loss to Lawrence on Thursday in a game that had been rescheduled because of weather. 
 
North Central also continued to compete in close games, including the 7-5 result at MSOE and an 11-10 loss to Penn College on Monday, when Ben Kerkow recorded four points.
 
Standings Check: Climbing the Conference Ladder
Entering the weekend, Elmhurst has the league’s best record at 5-1 overall, followed by Illinois Wesleyan at 5-2. Augustana is 3-3, while Carthage stands at 4-4. Carroll has moved to 3-5, and North Central is 1-6. 
 
The next round of non-conference action begins Saturday with Illinois Wesleyan traveling to Roanoke for a 12 p.m. contest and Elmhurst hosting Hope at 1 p.m. Augustana will host Beloit at 1 p.m., while Carroll travels to Dubuque for a 2 p.m. start. Carthage closes the day at home against Concordia Wisconsin at 7 p.m. 
 
Midweek action continues Tuesday with Illinois Wesleyan at Pfeiffer, followed by North Central hosting DePauw on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Conference play remains set to begin in April.