Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Augustana had the opportunity to claim the first-ever CCIW women's lacrosse title on Saturday and Coach Meredith Newman's squad did just that—in dominating fashion—with a 14-4  win over North Central at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. After two perfect seasons in the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference, the Vikings captured their third straight undefeated conference championship. Newman's outfit is now 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the CCIW. The Cardinals drop to 10-4 on the season and 4-2 in the league.
 
The visitors went up 1-0 just a minute and a half in when senior Hilary Kargl (Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville Ky.) scored off an assist from junior Emily Handrahan (Lake Zurich HS, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.).
 
North Central goalkeeper Kat Schultz did a nice job of keeping her team in the game early, recording four saves in the first 6:05 of the contest. Augustana also had a shot by sophomore Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) hit the post during that time and the Viking lead was still just 1-0 as the first half clock ticked under 17 minutes.
 
Handrahan's goal with 16:48 to play in the half put Augustana up 2-0 and sophomore Anne Hopkins (Mother McAuley HS, Chicago, Ill.) added two more scores in the next 3½ minutes to put her team up 4-0. Kargl and Handrahan, respectively, assisted on Hopkins' goals.
 
Claire Norfleet got the Cardinals on the board with a goal at the 5:09 mark, but Kargl and then Mayer answered before halftime and the Vikings took a 6-1 lead to intermission.
 
Three goals, by junior Kaylee Nolan (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.), Kargl and senior Emily Pavlik (Lyons HS, La Grange, Ill.), in just over three minutes early in the second half put the Augustana in complete control at 9-1. Handrahan and Pavlik gave the Vikings a 10-goal advantage, scoring just 15 seconds apart midway through the period.
 
After another North Central goal, it was Nolan and junior Kendall Maduro (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) finding the net to give Augustana a 13-2 edge. The Cardinals scored twice with less than three minutes to play before senior Kelly Stelzer (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) closed out the scoring off a Mayer assist with 13 seconds left.
 
Eight different Vikings scored in the game. Kargl had three goals and Pavlik, Handrahan, Hopkins and Nolan two each. Handrahan had a team-high four assists and Kargl added a pair. Hopkins collected a game-high six ground balls and tied junior goalkeeper Jenna Hofmann (Columbine HS, Littleton, Colo.) with a game-high three caused turnovers. Nolan, one of the nation's leaders in draw controls, added 11 to her season total.
 
Hofmann recorded six saves in goal and along with defenders Bridget Conniff (Benet Academy, Downers Grove, Ill.), Nattali Shelton (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.), Cori Duncan (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) and Barb Vega (Marian Catholic HS, Flossmoor, Ill.), helped hold a North Central outfit averaging 15 goals per game to just four total and just two in the first 57-plus minutes.
 
Augustana ended up with a 32-12 advantage in shots and a 34-26 margin in ground balls. The Vikings controlled 14 of 20 draws and committed 19 turnovers to 28 for the Cardinals.
 
Augustana will host a CCIW Tournament semifinal on Wednesday, April 29 at Thorson-Lucken Field. Game time and the Vikings' opponent have yet to be determined.