KENOSHA, WIS.—The 2019 CCIW opener pitted the Carthage College men's lacrosse team against Illinois Wesleyan University in a Saturday-afternoon bout at Art Keller Field. The Titans, whose lone loss of the season was a 22-6 decision against top-ranked Salisbury University on March 15, came through with a 10-goal second quarter that provided enough cushion in a 21-13 win over the Red Men.
 
The Carthage offense got four-goal games from Brody Ilstrup and Colin Poitras, while the defense notched 14 caused turnovers in comparison to Illinois Wesleyan's 11. Andy Szun also turned in a respectable performance with three goals and one assist for four points.
 
The Titans, who out-shot the Red Men 71-35, got five-goal performances from Rick Smith and Will Rossi. Smith added an assist to his statline for a game-high six points.
 
Kyle Guthrie got the goalie start for the Red Men and made five saves over 17:22 of work, before Sam Kotsonas played 42:38 and tallied 13 saves. Titans goalie Benigno Houser stopped 13 shots in the complete-game victory.
 
Carthage falls to 9-3, 0-1 CCIW while Illinois Wesleyan improves to 10-1, 2-0 CCIW.
 
Illinois Wesleyan 21, Red Men 13
 
The Red Men and Titans played to a 4-4 first quarter, which included a man-up tally from Noah Lindner with 3:30 left in the frame that gave his team a 3-2 lead. It proved to be Carthage's final lead of the contest as Illinois Wesleyan closed the frame with a 2-0 run that tied the game 4-4 after the first, in addition to 10-second-half goals that gave them a 14-9 edge at intermission.
 
Carthage tallied just one third-quarter goal, courtesy of Colin Poitras at the 13:43 mark before Bailey Marth's two goals highlighted a 4-0 Titans run to close the frame en route to an 18-10 cushion heading into the final 15:00. It was enough of a security blanket in a 21-13 victory over the Red Men.
 
Carthage will return to action on Saturday, April 13 at Augustana College (Ill.) for a 1:00 p.m. start.