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 at the 9:26 mark, scoring three goals within two minutes and 21 seconds of each other. The Cardinals answered back with Luke Paris' unassisted goal to cut the lead to 3-1 with 5:23 remaining in the first period. The Titans responded by scoring five unanswered goals to take a commanding 8-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Titan lead grew to 10-1 in the second period before the Cardinals began their comeback with a Jake Scumaci goal with 6:30 to go in the half. Paris added a second goal in the closing moments of the first half 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 Titans extended their lead to 12-9 getting back on the board with 11:26 left in the contest. The Cardinals fought to bring 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 in favor of Illinois Wesleyan. 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.

The Titans got 61 shots off with 31 on target, whereas the Cardinals shot 47 times with 29 on target. As a team, the Cardinals collected 23 ground balls to the Titans' 39.  North Central had six extra-man opportunities and managed to score on one, while Illinois Wesleyan converted all of their extra-man opportunities, going three-for-three. In the net, Josiah Karnehm saved 16 shots throughout the game. Snyder scored his 28th goal of the season, while Paris and Westphal led the Cardinals with three scores in the match, raising their season total to 19 for Westphal and 11 for Paris. 

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).

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.