Chicago, IL. — Illinois Tech Men's Lacrosse (4-7, 4-1) clinched a tight 6–5 victory over the Milwaukee School of Engineering (7-4, 3-2) at Stuart Field on Wednesday. The Scarlet Hawks fended off a late push by the Raiders, with their defense delivering 12 pivotal saves to seal the win.
How It Happened
Illinois Tech set the pace early in the first quarter.
Cooper Leonard fired the opening goal at 7:14, with an assist from
Alexander Stokrp, after two earlier misses.
Bodey Goertzen widened the gap with a goal at 2:30. The Raiders answered back in the dying seconds with Jack Civottolo netting a goal just five seconds before the buzzer, assisted by Dawson Smith, leaving Illinois Tech ahead 2–1 at the end of the quarter.
The Scarlet Hawks took control in the second quarter, adding three more goals to stretch their lead.
Canyon Kuchel started off with an unassisted goal at 7:08. Moments later,
Alexander Stokrp scored, thanks to a pass from
Diego Sosa. Leonard further padded the lead to 5–1 at 2:00, with another assist from Sosa.
Ryan Littler's performance in the net was vital, as he consistently thwarted the Raiders' scoring attempts, keeping them scoreless in the period.
The third quarter saw Leonard extending Illinois Tech's lead with a goal at 10:12. Yet, the Raiders quickly countered with Andrew Toman's goal at 9:38, assisted by Civottolo. Carter Stahl then found the net twice, at 8:51 and 4:27, closing the gap to two goals. Despite Illinois Tech calling a timeout at 4:20 to regroup, the quarter ended with the Scarlet Hawks leading 6–4, setting up an intense final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Illinois Tech's defense held firm.
Duwayne Aikins won the opening faceoff, but the Raiders' Alex Lo made critical saves against Aikins and Leonard's attempts. Will Malecha scored on a man-up opportunity, assisted by Isaac Johnston, at 1:07, bringing the Raiders within one. However, Illinois Tech stood its ground, with Littler's last-second save on Malecha preserving the 6–5 victory.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Cooper Leonard
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- 3 goals
- 10 shots
- 1 game-winning goal
Ryan Littler
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- 12 saves
- 36 shots faced
Alexander Stokrp
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- 1 goal
- 1 assist
Bodey Goertzen
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- 1 goal
- 2 shots on goal
MSOE Top Performers
Carter Stahl
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- 2 goals
- 5 shots
- 4 shots on goal
Alex Lo
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- 11 saves
- 36 shots faced
Will Malecha
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- 1 goal
- 5 shots
- 2 shots on goal
- 1 extra-man goal
Game Notes:
- Team - Achieved a season-high of 6 man-up opportunities in the game.
-
Cooper Leonard - Achieved a season-high total of 3 goals.
- Illinois Tech Improves to 2-4 all time vs MSOE
Up Next
Illinois Tech takes on Marian University on Senior Day Saturday, April 4 at 3 p.m. at Stuart Field in Chicago, Illinois.
