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

Box Score

Mar. 29, 2015 - In a contest in which it had to fight for every possession, the North Central College women's lacrosse team secured a well-earned victory at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Sunday, edging out the Southwestern University (Texas) Pirates, 14-12.

Both teams defended aggressively throughout a cold, windy afternoon, combining to force a total of 67 turnovers. The Cardinals (5-1) ran down a total of 50 ground-ball pickups, establishing a new single-game school record. The previous record of 42 had been accomplished four times, most recently on Mar. 29 of last season against Linfield College.

Trailing, 2-1, after the first 10 minutes of play, North Central pulled in front by scoring five consecutive goals over a six-minute span. Southwestern kept the Cardinals out of the net for the final 13:43 of the opening period and got a pair of goals from Kate Davis to narrow its deficit to 6-4 by halftime.

Davis scored three of the Pirates' first four goals in the second half, the last of which left the visitors with just a 9-8 deficit with 21:16 to play. North Central's Claire Norfleet found the net a minute later before Emily Zadny tallied three straight goals in just under two minutes to give the hosts some breathing room. Following a scramble for possession in front of the goal, North Central's Bianca Perri was able to tack on the team's final goal with 13:24 on the clock.

Southwestern (6-6) scored the final four goals of the game, the last of which came with 59.8 seconds to play, but the Cardinals' Gina Fisher controlled the ensuing draw and North Central was able to run out the clock.

Zadny and Kassie Whaling paced North Central's scoring efforts with four goals each, while Fisher totaled four assists and broke her own single-game school record with seven casued turnovers. Fisher also led the team with seven draw controls and shared the team lead in ground balls with Kara Stevens, as each finished with eight. 

Davis led all scorers with five goals for the Pirates, while Mikaela Starks finished with six caused turnovers and five ground balls.

The Cardinals travel to face Elmhurst College on Thursday, with play scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Links to live in-game statistics and video coverage can be accessed by clicking HERE.