Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – After capturing this year's first-ever CCIW regular season championship with a perfect 6-0 record, Coach Meredith Newman's Augustana lacrosse team added the first conference tournament title Saturday with a 25-3 win over Carthage at Thorson-Lucken Field. The Vikings improve to 18-1 on the year and await this week's NCAA Tournament pairings. The CCIW is not awarded an automatic bid. The Lady Reds finish the year 12-6.
 
It took less than a minute for Augustana to get on the board. Senior Kelly Stelzer (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) scored off an assist from junior Kendall Maduro (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) at 29:17 of the first half. It took just seven seconds after junior Kaylee Nolan (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) controlled the ensuing draw for Maduro to find the net with an assist from Hilary Kargl (Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville, Ky.).
 
The visitors came back with a Rachel Mussel free position goal at 28:37 to cut the Viking lead to 2-1, but back-to-back goals by sophomore Anne Hopkins (Mother McAuley HS, Chicago, Ill.) and another by classmate Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) put the Vikings back on top 5-1 with 24 minutes left in the half.
 
Lady Red Hannah Bellenbaum converted a Madison Griffin assist at the 17:51 mark to make it 5-2, but that would be Carthage's last gasp, as Augustana scored the next 18 goals, including the last 12 of the half. Hopkins added four more scores before intermission. Kargl had four assists at the break. The Vikings also controlled 17 of 18 first-half draws, with Nolan logging a dozen of those.

Although the scoring pace slowed after halftime, it was all Augustana, with five different players scoring the hosts' six second-half goals. Kristen Hairston scored the Lady Reds' lone second-period goal with 1:14 to play, snapping a Carthage scoring drought of more than 46 minutes.
 
Hopkins finished with seven goals. Kargl added three, to go along with five assists and Maduro and Mayer each scored three goals and dished out a pair of assists. Nolan controlled 13 draws.
 
Jenna Hofmann (Columbine HS, Littleton, Colo.) recorded five saves in goal and earned her 17th win of the season. The Viking defense, led by CCIW Defensive Player of the Year Nolan, seniors Bridget Conniff (Benet Academy, Downers Grove, Ill.), Nattali Shelton (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) and Barbara Vega (Marian Catholic HS, Flossmoor, Ill.), along with junior Cori Duncan (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.), limited the Lady Reds to just eight shots in the game.