Contact: Elliott Carr, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-530
 
Box Score

Elmhurst, Ill. (April. 12, 2017) –  Overcoming the fact they were forced to play without a bench due to a rash of injuries, the North Central College women's lacrosse team opened College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play in dominant fashion, defeating Elmhurst College 19-1 at Langhorst Field on Wednesday night.

It didn't take long for the Cardinals to show that they weren't going to allow injuries to hinder them, as freshman Jessica Deetjen scored the opening goal of the game with 26:46 on the clock. Senior Kassie Whaling added to the early lead soon after, finding herself on the receiving end of an assist from senior Nikki Merriss, with 23:25 remaining.

Senior Emily Zadny then made her presence felt, scoring with 18:34 left in the half, then finding freshman Christina Truver in scoring position with 14:39 on the clock.

Not long after, with 13:57 remaining, Deetjen scored her second goal of the contest and giving North Central a commanding 5-0 lead. Elmhurst shortly bounced back to score a goal of their own.

Not deterred, Zadny got things rolling again for the Cardinals with 12:00 left in the half, scoring on a free-position shot, then assisting a Whaling goal with 11:17 on the clock. North Central went into halftime with a 7-1 lead.

Truver wasted little time showing the Cardinals had not lost any momentum, blowing by multiple defenders to score in opening minute of the second half. Deetjen then added a third goal to her tally, scoring with 27:01 remaining on a free-position shot. With 25:23 left, Truver also accumulated her third goal, giving North Central a 10-1 advantage.

With 24:27 remaining, it was Truver playing the role of facilitator, as she found Merriss in scoring position. Zadny then scored her third goal of the contest with 20:24 remaining, courtesy of an assist from freshman Nelle Scranton. The roles were then reversed with 15:44 on the clock, as it was Scranton who was on the receiving end of the assist from Zadny. With 11:34 on the clock, Whaling added another goal, giving North Central the lead 16-1.

Zadny made it five for the game with 8:31 left to play, while Scranton added her second with 5:27 on the clock. Merriss scored North Central's final goal, coming from an assist from Whaling with 1:07 remaining.

Zadny's five goals led the Cardinals, while Deetjen followed with four. Zadny also had a team-high three assists. Deetjen led the team in ground balls with five, and Truver was dominant out of the center as she accumulated six draw controls.

Defensively, Deetjen wreaked havoc with five caused turnovers, while senior goalkeeper Kat Schultz finished with four saves.

The Cardinals aim to remain unbeaten in CCIW play when they host Carroll University at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on April 15. Game time is 1:00 p.m., and live stats and video can be found here.