McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's lacrosse team is set to begin its 2025 season against Aurora University on Saturday, February 22. The game will take place at the Spartan Athletic Complex at 11 a.m., marking the start of head coach Abby Kushina's tenure with the team.

Under Kushina's guidance, the Titans aim to build on their previous 9-8 season in 2024, which was their first winning record since 2021. Key players returning include Sarah Riepe, who earned First Team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honors last year as a junior defender. Joining her are senior midfielder Mia Fiandaca and senior Avery Setzler, both serving as team captains for this season.

The game will also feature eight freshmen making their debut for the Titans: Brooke Ayres, Maddie Gibson, Carly Bajusz, Makenna McVey, Sophie Shore, Lillie Keeton, Cassie Fischmann, and Marli Brown.

Fiandaca returns as last year's top goal-scorer with 48 goals. She ranks fifth in program history with 117 career goals and is tenth in points with 128. Junior Carleigh Fountain follows closely behind after finishing third on the team with 42 goals last year. Setzler leads as the top assister from last season with 15 assists.

At draw controls, junior Sadie Newton returns after finishing second on the team with 49 last season. Defensively, Fiandaca and Riepe are notable for their performance; Fiandaca caused turnovers totaling second-best on the team while ranking fourth all-time in her career. Riepe led in ground balls collected last season.

In goalkeeping duties, senior Lizzie Rymarcsuk returns after a limited but effective run due to injury last year where she recorded a .487 save percentage over five games.

Illinois Wesleyan faces Aurora University for the ninth time since they began competing in 2016. IWU won five initial matches while AU has claimed victory in recent encounters including a close match ending at Tucci Stadium on February 28th of last year.

Aurora concluded its previous season with a record of 12-7 and participated in NCAA tournaments following success within their conference championships.

The upcoming match will be live-streamed by Aurora University alongside real-time stats tracking online. This event coincides with another match featuring IWU’s men's lacrosse team later that day.