The Illinois Wesleyan University women’s lacrosse team was defeated by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, with a final score of 23-6 on Saturday, March 7. This result brings the Titans’ season record to 3-3, while Wisconsin-La Crosse remains unbeaten at 3-0.
Senior Sarah Riepe and sophomore Sophie Shore led Illinois Wesleyan in scoring, each recording two goals. Sophomore Lillie Keeton and senior Sadie Newton also added one goal apiece. Shore contributed significantly on defense as well, leading the team with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Riepe, Keeton, and sophomore Marli Brown each collected two ground balls. Newton led the draw controls with six, followed by four from Riepe.
Brown played the first half in goal for Illinois Wesleyan and made seven saves but was charged with the loss. Freshman Allison Vervynck took over in the second half and recorded six saves. The Titans finished with a total of 13 saves compared to four by their opponent.
Newton scored Illinois Wesleyan’s first goal at 9:36 in the opening quarter to bring the score to 4-1. Later in the period, DiGiovanni assisted Riepe for a woman-up goal, making it 5-2 late in the first quarter before Wisconsin-La Crosse extended its lead to 8-2 after fifteen minutes.
Riepe scored on a free-position attempt early in the second quarter to narrow the gap to 10-3. However, Illinois Wesleyan did not add any more goals before halftime and trailed 16-3 at intermission.
In the third quarter, Keeton converted a free-position shot for her first goal of the game, bringing the score to 16-4. Shore then added two consecutive goals for Illinois Wesleyan—including one on a free-position attempt—closing out their scoring run at 16-5.
Illinois Wesleyan outscored Wisconsin-La Crosse 3-2 during the third quarter but could not keep pace as their opponent scored five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter.
Illinois Wesleyan will return home to host DePauw University on Tuesday, March 10 at Tucci Stadium with game time set for 4 p.m. The team competes in intercollegiate athletics as part of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and plays its home games at Tucci Stadium in Bloomington, Illinois (official website). The roster features student-athletes from freshman through fifth-year classes (official website). In previous seasons, they have achieved notable victories such as a 23-0 win over Illinois Institute of Technology in 2025 (official website).
