McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team is set to face Aurora University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This marks the second consecutive year that IWU will host Aurora, with the game scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 8, at Tucci Stadium.

The Titans secured their spot in the tournament after winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament with a narrow 12-11 overtime victory against Elmhurst on May 4. This victory earned them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The team enters the postseason with a strong record of 13-3 and an impressive 11-game winning streak.

Illinois Wesleyan is one of 28 automatic qualifiers in this year's 38-team field. The Titans have previously qualified for the national tournament in several years, including 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and last year. Their current tournament record stands at four wins and five losses.

Aurora University also gained entry into the tournament through an automatic bid from the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. They clinched their conference title by defeating Concordia Wisconsin with a score of 17-10.

This upcoming match will be a rematch of a regular-season game between IWU and Aurora, where IWU emerged victorious with a score of 24-15 on March 2 at Tucci Stadium.

The winner of this first-round matchup will proceed to compete in a regional event hosted by Union in New York over the weekend. The advancing team will face Tufts at noon ET on Saturday, May 11. Meanwhile, Union and Stevenson are set to complete the weekend's games.

The NCAA Division III men's lacrosse tournament will run from May 8 until its conclusion on May 26 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.