Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Apr. 30, 2025)- The North Central College men's lacrosse team's comeback in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) tournament semifinal came up short as the team fell to the top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan Titans 15-12 at Tucci Stadium Wednesday.

The Titans jumped ahead in the first period with a 3-0 lead, scoring three goals within two minutes and 21 seconds of each other, two by Sam Weinburg and one by Bob Boone. The Cardinals answered back with Luke Paris' unassisted goal to cut the lead to 3-1 at the 5:23 mark of the first period. The Titans responded by scoring five unanswered goals, including three in a row from Ike Eastburn, to end the first period. The Titan lead grew to 10-1 in the second period before the Cardinals attempted their comeback with a Jake Scumaci goal and Paris' second goal to make it a 10-3 game at halftime. 

North Central surged in the third period, going on a 6-1 scoring run to cut the Titans' lead to just two. Cole Westphal scored three goals in the third period along with one each from Paris, Charlie Snyder, and Dalton Lutz. In the fourth period, the Cardinals brought the game to within one with 8:23 left in the game, after Josiah Karnehm and Snyder each scored to make the score 12-11 Titans. The Titans put the game away, recording three straight goals before Dylan Andersen added one more for the Cardinals for the 15-12 final score. Illinois Wesleyan fended off the Cardinal attack in the fourth period, putting away the game, outscoring North Central 4-3.

Paris and Westphal led the team in goals scored for the Cardinals with three each. As a team, the Cardinals collected 23 ground balls to the Titans' 39. In the net, Josiah Karnehm saved 16 shots throughout the game. 

North Central finishes the season 11-4 overall and 3-2 in CCIW play en route to their semifinal loss to the Illinois Wesleyan Titans (14-4, 5-0 CCIW).

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