Vikings finish the year 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the CCIW; Christina McCabe and Carla Bennett named second team All-CCIW
Augustana finished the 2019 season with a 6-10 overall record and a sixth-place CCIW mark of 2-5. Seniors
Christina McCabe (Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.) and
Carla Bennett (Marian Catholic HS, South Holland, Ill.) were both named to the All-CCIW second team.
Coach C.J. Holder's squad opened the season in late February, splitting a pair of contests in Georgetown, Texas. The Vikings defeated Hendrix 13-10 in a neutral site game before falling to host Southwestern by a score of 22-10.
Augustana played its home opener at Thorson-Lucken Field on March 8, dropping a 12-11 overtime heartbreaker to Wittenberg. Senior
Emily Lucnik (Schaumburg HS, Schaumburg, Ill.) recorded a program first by scoring a pair of short-handed goals.
Holder's bunch bounced back with consecutive 19-10 home wins over Concordia (Wis.) and Wisconsin-River Falls before splitting the last two of its five straight home games. The Vikings suffered another excruciating one-goal (14-13) overtime setback to Adrian before downing Monmouth 18-8.
A pair of losses in Michigan to Concordia (13-9) and Albion (14-6) sent Augustana into CCIW play with a record of 4-5.
The Vikings opened league play on April 3 versus North Central at Thorson-Lucken. The Cardinals claimed a 16-7 win and eventual conference champion Illinois Wesleyan downed Augustana 15-6 three days later in Rock Island. The Vikings suffered losses to first-year CCIW associate member Chicago (20-10) on the road and Carroll (14-3) at home before logging their first league win, 13-2 at Dubuque on April 17. Bennett set a school record by grabbing 12 ground balls in that contest.
Carthage handed Augustana its third one-goal loss of the year, 13-12 in Kenosha, Wisconsin on April 20, but the Vikings bounced back to close the season with an 18-0 whitewash of Elmhurst at home on April 27.
Four seniors played big roles all year for Holder's crew. McCabe led Augustana in goals (49) and points (66) and tied Bennett for the team lead with 17 assists. Bennett also led the Vikings with 80 draw controls and 22 caused turnovers, finished second in ground balls (49), third in points (46) and fourth in goals (29).
Bailey Aasen (Park HS, Cottage Grove, Minn.) was second on the team in goals (34) and points (49) and ranked third in assists (15) and Lucnik had 24 goals and four assists for 28 points.
Freshman
Kathryn Hettiger (Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind.), who was third on the team with 33 goals and fourth with 12 assists and 45 points, will be the top returning offensive player next season.
Defensively, sophomore
Courtney Veitch (Lake Zurich HS, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) went 6-10 in goal. Her 155 saves are second-most in a season at Augustana and she finished with a .445 save percentage and a goals against average of 12.04. Freshman
Cassie Kruse (Hinsdale Central HS, Clarendon Hills, Ill.) proved to be a force on defense as well, recording 18 caused turnovers.
2019 CCIW WOMEN'S LACROSSE STANDINGS
| School |
Conf |
Overall |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
7-0 |
18-3 |
| Chicago |
6-1 |
15-3 |
| North Central |
5-1 |
14-4 |
| Carroll |
4-3 |
10-6 |
| Carthage |
3-4 |
6-9 |
| AUGUSTANA |
2-5 |
6-10 |
| Dubuque |
1-6 |
1-14 |
| Elmhurst |
0-7 |
1-13 |
2019 CCIW Tournament
Wednesday, May 1
#2 Chicago 17, #3 North Central 10
#1 Illinois Wesleyan 14, #4 Carroll 7
Saturday, May 4
Illinois Wesleyan 11, Chicago 6
2019 AUGUSTANA SUPERLATIVES
ALL-CCIW: 2nd team—
Christina McCabe, A;
Carla Bennett, M
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE:
Bailey Aasen,
Lauren Amella,
Chloe Anderson,
Juliette Camara,
Hannah Collins,
Elizabeth Cook,
Kathryn Hettiger,
Cassie Kruse,
Emily Lucnik,
Sydney Rector,
Courtney Veitch
CCIW PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Christina McCabe (Offense), 2/25/19
NCAA INDIVIDUAL TOP 50 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Free position percentage: .600,
Christina McCabe, T-41st
SCHOOL RECORDS
Singe Game—Individual
Ground balls: 12,
Carla Bennett at Dubuque, 04/17/19... Short-handed goals: 2,
Emily Lucnik vs. Wittenberg, 03/08/19
Single Game—Team
Short-handed goals: 2 vs. Wittenberg, 03/08/19
Season—Individual
Short-handed goals: 2,
Emily Lucnik
Career—Individual
Ground balls per game: 2.46,
Courtney Veitch, 2018-19... Short-handed goals: 3,
Emily Lucnik, 2016-19
