ROCK ISLAND — The Augustana Vikings women's lacrosse team returns home to begin conference play against the Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Saturday, April 8.

Augie holds a 5-3 record, with their most recent action resulting in a 20-10 road triumph over the Franklin Grizzlies on Thursday, March 30. The Vikings led the Grizzlies 13-8 at the break thanks to first-half hat tricks from Madison Langewisch and Elena Bechard. Augie then doubled up the Grizzlies with five consecutive goals to start the third period before the two teams exchanged scores in the fourth to put the game at its 20-10 final. 

Bechard led the Vikings with seven goals to help produce the season's largest scoring output. Langewisch was close behind with six, followed by Cassidy Petrie with four and Claire Kim with three. Augustana also caused 13 turnovers and grabbed 19 ground balls. Bechard was recently named the CCIW Offensive Player of the Week.

Illinois Wesleyan has a 4-7 record and begins its conference slate on Saturday. The Titans' most recent outing resulted in a 17-12 win over UW-River Falls on Friday, March 31. A 7-3 second-quarter lead for Illinois Wesleyan was erased after the Falcons reared back to knot the game at 7-7 and eventually 9-9 heading into the locker room. The Titans struck first out of the break, carrying that momentum through the remainder of the game as they pulled ahead by five in the fourth to claim the home victory. Carleigh Fountain led Illinois Wesleyan with six goals, while Mia Fiandace finished narrowly behind with five. 

Illinois Wesleyan holds a 5-4 advantage over Augustana in the all-time series, with the most recent meeting between the two programs resulting in a 20-5 triumph for the Titans on April 9, 2022. Augie fell behind 4-0 early, cutting the deficit to three at 5-2 before Illinois Wesleyan broke things open with six unanswered goals in the second period. The Vikings outscored the Titans 3-2 in the third quarter but were silenced by a 7-0 final frame as the home team claimed the victory. Kim nabbed a team-high two goals and an assist in the loss. 

The action begins at 1:00 p.m. from Thorson-Lucken Field. Stream link for the CCIW battle can be found here.