ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst University men's lacrosse team fell 15-18 to Illinois Wesleyan University in a key CCIW matchup at Langhorst Field.

Elmhurst (9-4/1-3 CCIW) struck first with a goal from Jake Grebe in the first 42 seconds of the contest to take an early 1-0 lead.

Bob Boone tied things up with 10:25 remaining in the first, but Sante Dybowski responded quickly with a goal of his own to give the Bluejays the lead once again.

Illinois Wesleyan (9-3/3-0 CCIW) netted back-to-back goals to end the first period to hold a 3-2 advantage heading into the second quarter.

The Bluejays rattled off three goals to start the second period and took a brief 5-3 lead, before the Titans outscored Elmhurst 6-2 in the final 11:14 of the first half to head into halftime up 9-7.

Connor Kiichle scored the first goal of the second half to extend the Titan lead to three, but the Bluejays came firing back with four consecutive goals from Ethan Stepanek, Ryan Swank, Tony Vazquez and Grebe to take an 11-10 lead with 4:22 to play in the third.

Elmhurst trailed 12-11 at the end of the third period.

Grebe tied the game up 12-12 with 14:30 left in the final quarter, but a weather delay sent both squads into their respective locker rooms until it was safe to resume play.

After over an hour, both teams returned to the field to finish the final 13:56 of the contest.

Illinois Wesleyan came out strong scoring back-to-back goals to take a 14-12 lead. The Bluejays were able to get within one with an Eli Spence goal at 12:18, but the Titans were able to outlast Elmhurst in the remaining minutes and head back to Bloomington with a 18-15 conference win.

Grebe led the way offensively for Elmhurst finishing with five goals and two assists. Spence added in four goals and a pair of assists, while Dybowski chipped in two goals and an assist in the loss. Chris Haycock, Swank and Stepanek each contributed one goal and one assist for the Bluejays. Tony Vazquez won 18-of-35 faceoffs, picked up a game-high seven groundballs and netted one goal as well.

The Titans were led by Connor Kiichle who finished with three goals and three assists. Following close behind was Carson Kiichle with four goals and two assists, while Boone added in three goals and two assists in the win. Ike Eastburn scored a hattrick, while Trystan Seeley and Gage Black contributed a pair of goals apiece. Zo Lomardo picked up a team-high six groundballs and won 10-of-20 faceoffs for Illinois Wesleyan.

Noah Mickelson collected 10 saves in goal for the Bluejays, while Colin Tervo and Alex Oximana earned the win for the Titans with a combined 16 saves.

Elmhurst travels north to Waukesha, Wis. on Saturday April 22 to take on the Carroll University Pioneers at 1:00 p.m.