ROCK ISLAND – The Augustana Vikings women's lacrosse team battles the Cornell Rams in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, March 8. 

Augie opened their home slate on Saturday, defeating the Augsburg Auggies in an 18-16 shootout. Augustana fell behind by two early but responded with a five-point scoring run. Claire Kim spearheaded Augie's offensive production in the second frame with three goals to push the Vikings' advantage to four at the half. Augie surged to a seven-point lead behind a 4-1 run to open the third period, but four unanswered goals from the Auggies trimmed the lead to three entering the final quarter. Elena Bechard scored her ninth goal of the contest late in the frame to help propel Augustana to a two-point victory. Bechard's nine goals place her third in program history for goals in a single game, trailing only Hilary Kargyl, who reached marks of 10 and 14 in 2012. 

Behind Bechard, Kim and Madison Langewisch finished next in line with five and four goals, respectively. Augie led Augsburg 39-37 in total shots and boasted a plus-15 advantage in ground balls. Goalkeeper Rachel Forman grabbed 13 saves, earning the win in net. 

Cornell enters Wednesday's matchup with a 2-1 record, most recently besting the Edgewood Eagles 9-5 in Madison, Wis. The Rams had a 27-14 advantage in shots over the Eagles, with their top scorer Cece Zanoni contributing two goals and two assists. Cornell grabbed 31 ground balls and forced 14 turnovers, including a game-high four caused turnovers from Anna Methe. 

Cornell leads Augustana 2-0 in the all-time series, with the most recent matchup between the two programs resulting in a 14-9 loss for the Vikings on March 5, 2022. After falling behind 11-5, Augie lowered the Rams' lead to four, but they could not complete the comeback. Cassidy Petrie led the Vikings' scoring effort with three goals and paced the team with two caused turnovers.  

Start time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Thorson-Lucken Field. Stream link for the non-conference matchup can be found here.