Contact: Matthew Eaker, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, mreaker@noctrl.edu 

Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Mar. 1, 2023) - Opening their season inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium Wednesday night, the North Central College women's lacrosse overcame a four goal deficit to knock off the Lake Forest College Foresters 14-12 to notch their first win of the season.  

The Foresters (0-1) found themselves on the scoreboard early as Jenna Doctor finished off  an assist from Ryleigh Nelson but after winning the next draw, Savannah Frauhiger found the back of the net to put them up 2-0. The Cardinals would respond with 4:11 left in the first quarter as Abby MacKenzie netted the first goal of the season to cut the deficit to one. Annelise Oster sent the Cardinals into the second quarter with a goal to tie the game up at two. MacKenzie found the back of the net for the second time with 10:35 left in the second quarter but the Foresters would go on a three goal stretch to give them a 5-3 lead. Tanya Czosek put the Cardinals within one goal as she converted on a free position shot but just three minutes later the Foresters would extend their lead to 6-4 after a free position goal. Czosek would finish off a Lucy Culig pass to send the Cardinals into halftime down by one goal. 

The second half seemed to favor the Foresters as they started off the third quarter with a three goal stretch before Czosek buried another free position shot to cut the lead 9-6 with 8:15 remaining. The Foresters rattled off two more goals but Czosek found the back of the net two more times to cut the lead three. The Foresters would close out the third quarter with a goal in the final 30 seconds to bring their lead to 12-8. The Cardinals offense dominated the fourth quarter as Oster and Culig scored two quick goals to cut the Foresters lead to two but MacKenzie would bring the Cardinals within one after converting a free position shot. After the Foresters received a yellow card, MacKenzie buried her fourth and final goal of the night off a free-position shot to tie the game at 12 with 10:46 left in the game. Culig gave the Cardinals a 13-12 lead with 9:31 left in the game and Czosek sealed the win with 8:21 remaining as she netted her sixth goal of the game to give the Cardinals a 14-12 win. 

Czosek led the Cardinals with six goals on just 12 shots. MacKenzie scored four goals while Culig and Oster each had two goals. Culig also dished out a team-high three assists. Julia Clarke led the team with four ground balls while causing two turnovers. Bella LaRocco tallied six saves in her Cardinals debut as her record improved to 1-0 on the season. 

The Cardinals are idle until March 11 as they host the Concordia University-Wisconsin (CUW) Falcons at 1 pm inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. 

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