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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

Mar. 29, 2014 - A return home to the friendly environs of Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium proved to be just what the North Central College women's lacrosse team needed to snap out of a three-game losing streak Saturday, as the Cardinals broke open a close game in the second half and cruised to a 15-5 victory over Linfield College in their final non-conference game of the regular season.

After heading into halftime with a 7-4 advantage, North Central kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the first 22 minutes of the second half and scored seven unanswered goals to seize control. The victory was the Cardinals' third straight over Linfield, giving them a 3-2 lead in the all-time series.

The hosts threatened to run away with the contest in the first few minutes, scoring the first five goals with five different players. Trailing, 6-1, late in the opening period, the Wildcats (2-10) notched three goals in just over two minutes to close the lead to 6-4 before Anna Bartels scored with 18 seconds on the clock to put North Central ahead, 7-4, heading into the break.

Gina Fisher scored just 48 seconds after play resumed, the first in a 7-0 run for the Cardinals which lasted until Linfield's Shelby Duarte scored her team's lone second-half goal with 7:15 on the clock. North Central outshot the Wildcats, 19-4, in the second half and put 15 of its shots on the goal. 

The Cardinals owned a 41-17 advantage in shot attempts for the game and tied a single-game school record with 42 ground-ball pickups. North Central's seven assists were also a season high. Fisher led all scorers with five goals while also turning in game highs of eight ground balls and three caused turnovers and turning in eight draw controls to come within one of the single-game school record she currently shares.

Bartels, Rachael Houp and Kassie Whaling each scored two goals for the Cardinals (2-3), while Madison Maas recorded three assists and Bianca Perri finished with two assists and five ground balls. Houp also managed five draw controls and Sandy Stasaitis saved nine shots on goal.

Duarte scored four of the five goals for Linfield, which entered the game having beaten North Central's Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) rivals Aurora University (16-6) and Benedictine University (15-134) the previous two days.

North Central returns to MWLC play at Aurora on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Links to live video coverage and in-game statistics can be accessed by clicking HERE.