NAPERVILLE — The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s lacrosse season continued to march forward with non-conference competition last week.
 
Several league squads earned notable home wins or overtime decisions, while the upcoming schedule includes a heavy slate of road contests and cross-regional matchups that will provide additional evaluation points ahead of the start of conference play in April.
 
Overtime Dramatics and Home Openers
Last Saturday, Augustana traveled to Spalding and earned a 9-8 overtime victory. Vikings goalkeeper Hagan Quigley recorded 18 saves against 48 total shots, while Tommy Wimmers scored four goals, including the sudden-victory winner … That same afternoon, Elmhurst hosted Aurora and secured a 15-4 win. Eli Spence led the Bluejays with eight points, and goalkeeper Andrew Lacksonen posted 11 saves as Elmhurst maintained its unbeaten record.
 
Also on Saturday, North Central fell 9-8 in overtime at Dubuque. Gavin Braley won 13 of 18 faceoffs and Beck Hagen recorded 11 saves in the contest. Carroll also competed on Saturday and dropped a 15-6 decision to Benedictine. Jake Gehl made 14 saves in the loss, while Ethan Phillips scored two goals for the Pioneers.
 
Midweek play on Wednesday included three CCIW victories. Elmhurst improved to 4-0 with a 12-6 win over Lake Forest, winning 16 of 20 faceoffs in the game … Carroll earned its first home win of the season with a 12-3 victory over Beloit behind a hat trick from Brady Mollsen … North Central secured its first win under new head coach Brendan Kearney with a 9-7 victory over Lawrence, supported by 15 team faceoff wins and 40 ground balls.
 
Statistical Standouts from the Perimeter
Elmhurst’s Eli Spence recorded five goals and three assists for eight points in Saturday’s win over Aurora. Spence placed 10 of 13 shots on goal and added four ground balls … Augustana’s Tommy Wimmers totaled six points (four goals, two assists) against Spalding, highlighted by an unassisted overtime goal to secure the victory.
 
Carroll’s Brady Mollsen scored three goals on seven shots in the Wednesday win over Beloit and added two ground balls and one caused turnover … North Central’s Gavin Braley produced a strong performance at the faceoff X against Lawrence, finishing with 14 faceoff wins on 19 attempts and collecting a career-high 10 ground balls as the Cardinals earned their first win of the 2026 season.
 
Climbing the Statistical Leaderboards
The CCIW statistical leaderboards are led by several key performers. Elmhurst’s Eli Spence leads the conference in goals (16), assists (12) and points (28), and also leads the league in shots per game at 13.3 … Carthage College’s Keyan Schugel leads the conference in ground balls per game at 6.8 through five contests … Defensively, Carthage’s Josh Flores leads the league in caused turnovers per game at 2.8.
 
In goal, Carroll’s Jonas Malmanger leads the CCIW with 17.3 saves per game, while Augustana’s Hagan Quigley holds the conference’s highest save percentage at .640.
 
Tight Margins in the Early Records
Elmhurst is 4-0 with a 1.000 winning percentage … Carthage is 4-1 (.800) and has won three consecutive games following its most recent victory. Augustana owns a 3-2 mark (.600) after its overtime win. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan is 2-2 (.500) … North Central (1-3) and Carroll (1-5) each recorded their first victories of the season on Wednesday.
 
Upcoming Contests and Cross-Regional Tests
The upcoming schedule includes several matchups involving current conference statistical leaders. On Friday, Carthage travels to Hope. Carthage enters the contest leading the CCIW in goals against average (7.10) and man-up scoring percentage (.400) … On Saturday, Illinois Wesleyan visits Lake Forest. The Titans enter the game leading the conference in shots per game at 45.5.
 
Also on Saturday, Elmhurst hosts Oberlin. EU enters the contest with the CCIW’s leading scorer in Eli Spence and leads the conference in points per game (21.2) and faceoff percentage (.705) … North Central will travel to MSOE on Saturday. The Cardinals enter following a win in which they showed strength at the faceoff X and currently rank fourth in the conference in faceoff percentage (.507).
 
Milestones and Program Marks
North Central head coach Brendan Kearney earned his first career victory with the program on Wednesday in the 9-7 win over Lawrence. In that game, sophomore Gavin Braley set a new career-high with 10 ground balls and matched his career-high with 14 faceoff wins. North Central’s Ben Kerkow and Will Handberg each recorded career-highs with six ground balls. 
 
Elmhurst’s Eli Spence was named the CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for the third consecutive time to open the 2026 season.