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

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Apr. 12, 2023) - Playing in their first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) road game, the North Central College women's lacrosse couldn't erase an early deficit on Wednesday night as they fell to Illinois Wesleyan University 18-8 at Tucci Stadium.  

The Cardinals (3-10, 0-2 CCIW) and Titans (6-7, 2-0 CCIW) met at Tucci Stadium for the second-straight year and Illinois Wesleyan took advantage of playing at home, scoring the  game's first three goals to give them an early lead with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter. Lucy Culig cut into Titan lead as she netted an unassisted goal with 5:10 remaining, cutting the deficit to two. However, the Titans would rattled off two unanswered goals to head into the second quarter with a 5-1 lead. 

Skylar Kipka kicked off the scoring in the second quarter, netting her first goal of the season to bring the Cardinals within three. Five unanswered goals gave the Titans an eight goal advantage but with 1:07 remaining in the quarter, Kipka found Abby Tointon for the Cardinals third goal of the game. The Titans would head into the break with a commanding 10-3 lead. 

The Titans found success early in the second half as they rattled off two unanswered goals nineteen second apart to give them a 12-3 advantage. Culig found the back of the net for the second time of the night to cut the deficit to eight  with 9:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Titans would close out the third quarter with another  three goal stretch, giving them a 15-4 advantage heading into the final quarter of play. 

Illinois Wesleyan kicked off the fourth quarter with a goal just seven seconds after the first whistle. The Cardinals found some momentum shortly after as Julia Clarke dished out two assists to Abbey Triebe and Culig to bring the Cardinals within ten with 8:25 remaining. After two more Titan goals, Ellie Gosselin and Raygn Jordan both  found the back  of the net in the final two minutes to bring the score to 18-8 in favor of the Titans. 

Culig led the Cardinals with three goals while Clarke dished out a team and career-high two assists. Reese McMullen led all defenders with four caused turnovers while scooping up two ground balls. Bella LaRocco tallied a career-high 14 saves in the contest as she fell to 3-10 on the season. 

The Cardinals continue their road trip on Wednesday, April 19 as they head to Elmhurst University for a 5 pm matchup with the Bluejays at Langhorst Field. 

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