Box Score Augustana freshman Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) scored four second-half goals in the women's lacrosse team's 16-9 win over North Central during the semi-finals of the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference tournament on Friday, May 2^nd. The Vikings, under the direction of the MWLC "Coach of the Year", Sara Tisdale, climbed to 17-0 on the season with the victory over the Cardinals for the second time this season.
 
Mayer and Hilary Kargl (Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville, Ky.) combined for 14 of Augustana's 26 points in the contest. In the game, Mayer registered five goals and an assist while teammate Kargl tallied three scores along with five assists. The duo teamed up for four of the Vikings' goals.
 
The hosts took an early one goal advantage but North Central found the net at the 17:55 mark to even things at 1-1. Just a few moments later Kargl put Tisdale's  crew back on top before the Cardinals scored the equalizer with 8:34 left in the opening half. A Kendall Maduro (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) tally gave the Vikings a 3-2 lead before the visitors evened the score for the final time with 4:39 left in the half.
 
In the next three minutes the MWLC regular season champions went to work and closed on the half on a 4-0 run including a Mayer-Kargl combination to beat the buzzer for a 7-3 lead at the intermission. Augustana held a 13-11 shot advantage in the opening half along with five saves to the Cardinals two. Tisdale's unit won eight of the ten first half draws.
 
Just a half-minute into the second half North Central scored to cut the score to 7-4 in favor of the hosts. Mayer opened up her second half scoring charge with a tally at the 26:26 mark. During the next 62 seconds the Vikings would score twice more with the goals coming from the sticks of Kelly Stelzer (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) and Emily Handrahan (Lake Zurich HS, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) for a 10-4 blue and gold advantage.
 
North Central found the back of the net with 22:58 left before Augustana went on a three-goal scoring streak (Maduro, Kargl, Handrahan) for a 13-5 lead. The next goal belonged to North Central but a minute later Mayer found the net for the fourth time of the evening. The Cardinals cut the lead to seven at the 17:11 mark but Mayer's fifth tally and a Shelby Cosman (Marian Catholic HS, St. John, Ind.) goal gave Augustana a 16-7 lead. Despite scoring the final two goals, North Central could not find an answer for the Augustana offense and fell by a final score of 16-9.
 
Handrahan accounted for four of the Augustana points from three goals and an assist. Maduro recorded a pair of goals in the contest while Kaylee Nolan (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.), Stelzer, and Cosman each tallied one. Nolan and Stelzer both also contributed an assist along with teammate Annie Hopkins (Mother Mcauley HS, Chicago, Ill.). Tisdale's crew assisted at least half of its goals for the 15^th time this year with 10 assists in the semi-final contest.
 
Not only did this win secure Augustana a spot in the MWLC tournament champion, it also marked the 16^th straight victory for the Vikings at Thorson-Lucken Field, dating back to the early part of the 2013 campaign.
 
Playing goalkeeper for the Vikings was Jenna Hofmann (Columbine HS, Littleton, Colo.) who recorded 13 big saves for the blue and gold in the contest. The sophomore also registered two ground balls in the contest.
 
Augustana dominated the center-circle winning 18-26 draws. Nolan registered team-highs in draw controls with eight and ground balls with three. The Cardinals gathered 20 of the match's 33 ground balls and held a 31-27 advantage in shots. North Central had just five saves in the contest.
 
With little time for rest the Vikings are in action in the MWLC tournament championship tomorrow, Saturday, May 3^rd , at 7:30 p.m. Augustana will host second-seeded Carthage who defeated Concordia (Wis.) 15-14 in extra time during the first semi-final. The winner of the contest with receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament.