WAUKESHA, Wis. - Faced with the daunting task of opening the conference season against one the league's top programs, the Carroll University men's lacrosse team approached the challenge with high hopes of elevating its game.
Those hopes gradually faded as Carroll lost to Illinois Wesleyan University 28-3 in a blustery, rain-soaked College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin opener at Schneider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the fourth home-field loss of the season for the Pioneers, who dropped to 0-1 in the conference standings and 3-7 overall.
Illinois Wesleyan, which earned the top spot in the CCIW's preseason coaches poll, improved to 2-0 in conference and 6-2 overall.
Freshman attackman Alex Doorenbos had a game-high seven goals and an assist to lead the Titans, who scored eight unanswered goals in the momentum-building first quarter - including five within the opening five minutes.
Freshman attackman Rowan Hanold followed with five goals for Illinois Wesleyan, which showcased its balance and depth with 14 different players reaching the scoring column.
The Titans were dominant throughout the contest, winning 32 of 34 faceoffs and outshooting Carroll by a 71-15 margin - propelled by a 14-2 shot-on-goal advantage in the first quarter.
Freshman attackman Jeff Schultz (Franklin, Wis.) scored two second-quarter goals for Carroll, which committed 46 turnovers. Freshman midfielder Dannon Ivey (Grass Valley, Calif.) had the other goal in the fourth quarter for the Pioneers. Freshman defenseman Ian McClintock (Reno, Nevada) had an assist.
Despite the final outcome, Carroll first-year head coach Brian Nowak was proud of how his team competed against the high-powered conference favorite.
"Being the top team in the conference, one of our main objectives was to come out and play hard the entire way," said Nowak, whose team was without several key injured starters in the lineup. "From start to finish, the kids battled hard and kept fighting. It was a real testament to the type of effort we've been building toward all season so it was great to see the progress continue."
Freshman goalkeeper Abe Escrada (Sammamish, Wash.) registered eight saves in playing the opening half. Sophomore Dakota Hwilka (Waukesha, Wis.) made 11 saves in finishing the final 30 minutes.
"We knew it would take our very best to give them a run," Nowak said. "That said, I'm not mad or disappointed about anything. It was one of those situations where we knew that we were going to have to play hard and that's exactly what we did. Now we'll just do our best to learn from the huge experience and use it in our preparation for next week's game against University of Dallas."