Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana advanced to its third CCIW Tournament championship game in as many years Wednesday with a 19-13 win over North Central in a semifinal contest played at Thorson-Lucken Field. Coach C.J. Durham's squad improved to 11-6 on the year, while the Cardinals' season ends at 10-8. The Vikings host Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. for the tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Augustana won the previous meeting with the Titans 12-11 in overtime in Rock Island on April 8.
 
The hosts jumped in front 4-0 in the first 11 minutes Wednesday and spent the next 35 or so trying to hold off North Central challenges. However a 6-0 closing run over the final 14:17 spelled the difference.
 
Four different Vikings scored in the team's opening flurry. Sophomore Bailey Aasen (Park HS, Cottage Grove, Minn.) got Augustana on the board with an unassisted goal at the 25:28 mark of the first half. Sophomore Christina McCabe (Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.) parlayed an Anne Hopkins (Mother McAuley HS, Chicago, Ill.) assist into a goal at 21:40 and Hopkins scored herself 30 seconds later. An unassisted goal by sophomore Carla Bennett (Marian Catholic HS, South Holland, Ill.) made it 4-0 with 19:20 remaining in the first half.
 
Starting with a Madison Maas goal at 18:07, the Cardinals began chipping away. Hopkins scored off an Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) assist at the 15:11 mark—the first of six goals that the pair teamed up on in the game—to make it 5-1, but goals by Maas and Emily Zadny drew North Central to within 6-4.
 
Consecutive goals by Nikki Merriss and Jessica Deetjen cut the deficit to 7-6 and Mayer and Zadny traded goals before Hopkins scored three times in the last 4:03 of the period. The last of Hopkins' three came with 11 seconds left in the half and after the ensuing draw, sophomore Abbie Hoeg (Minooka HS, Channahon, Ill.) made a key defensive play, cutting off Zadny to deny her a shot attempt before the halftime buzzer. Augustana took an 11-8 lead to the locker room.
 
Deetjen scored twice in a 4-1 Cardinal run to start the second half. Her goal with North Central a player up pulled the visitors even at 12-12 with 21:23 to play—the game's first tie since 0-0. Hopkins put the Vikings back up by a goal before Maas answered with the Cardinals' final goal of the night. Her 51st of the season, with 16:56 to play, made it 13-all, but Augustana responded with six straight to end the night.
 
McCabe gave Durham's outfit the lead for good with an assist from Mayer at the 14:17 mark. Hopkins and Mayer sandwiched a goal each around two from Aasen and McCabe scored with 37 seconds left to account for the final.
 
Hopkins had a huge night, with seven goals and six assists, coming up one point shy of Hilary Kargl's single-game school record of 14. Hopkins added six ground balls and a caused turnover. Mayer added four goals and five assists, game highs of seven ground balls and four caused turnovers and also had six draw controls. Aasen had four goals and McCabe three. Bennett controlled a game-high 10 draws and senior Hanna Gobeille (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) chipped in with three caused turnovers.
 
Juniors Analia Fowler (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) and Madalynne Russell (Nobelesville HS, Noblesville, Ind.) split time in goal. Fowler worked the first half and Russell the second. Each recorded three saves and Russell was credited with her fourth win in five decisions.
 
The Vikings finished the night with advantages of 41-25 in shots, 27-21 in ground balls and 18-16 in draws. North Central turned it over 19 times to 18 for Augustana.