ELMHURST, ILL.—The #3 Carthage College men's lacrosse team faced #2 Elmhurst College in their first ever road CCIW Men's Lacrosse Semifinal Game at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Illinois on Friday night. The first quarter saw three different lead changes before Luke Seydel's goal with 0:43 left in the second quarter gave Carthage a 6-5 lead they wouldn't surrender again in a 15-11 victory over the Bluejays.
 
The win gives Carthage a 13-5 overall record and a spot in the 2018 CCIW Men's Lacrosse Tournament Championship Game at top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University tomorrow, Saturday, May 5 at Tucci Stadium in Bloomington, Illinois at 3:30 p.m. The Red Men will make their fourth-straight appearance in the CCIW Championship Game. 
 
Carthage, who outshot Illinois Wesleyan 46-41 in the game, were led by Ethan Flight's game-high four goals while the Winnipeg connection in Andy Szun and Colin Poitras each registered a hat trick. Szun's performance now gives him 293 career shots on goal, which ties Danny Morse's (2011-14) career school record. The Red Men finished the contest with a 26-21 shots on goal advantage while Elmhurst won the ground-ball battle 29-24.
 
Andy Meyers' 8-of-16 night in the face-off circle engineered Carthage's 11-of-28 team mark.
 
Red Men 15, Elmhurst 11
 
The Bluejays took 2-1 and 3-2 leads throughout the opening 15:00, but it was Carthage who turned three Bluejays turnovers into goals en route to a 4-3 cushion after the frame. The Red Men also converted their lone man-up tally of the first quarter, which occurred on Flight's first goal of the game at the 3:27 mark of the first before Szun made the score 4-3 with 1:13 left.
 
Both teams traded a pair of goals to make the score 6-5 in favor of Carthage with 0:43 left in the second frame before Colin Poitras's halftime buzzer beater widened that lead to 7-5.
 
It was a lead Carthage didn't surrender as they outshot Elmhurst 17-8 in the third frame en route to an 11-7 edge heading into the final 15:00. The Bluejays couldn't narrow the margin smaller than three goals in the fourth quarter as Carthage held onto a 15-11 win.
 
Red Men goalie Zerik Rodriguez made seven saves for Carthage while his counterpart Jacob Delgado stopped 11 shots for Elmhurst.