Contact: Devery Hodge, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
Feb 28, 2024 - The North Central College women's lacrosse team opened its season Wednesday as it faced the Saint Mary College (Indiana) Belles. The Cardinals lost by a score of 14-11 as the Belles evened the all-time series between the teams, 3-3.
Abby MacKenzie was the first to strike for the Cardinals as she opened up the game scoring with 12:17 still remaining in the first quarter. She was shortly followed up 39 seconds afterwards by her teammate Lucy Culig. The Belles then scored three unanswered goals. To finish off the period the Cardinals answered back with a three-goal run of their own. McKenzie scored the first two goals of the rally, with one of the goals assisted by Ellie Gosselin. The other goal was scored by Rachel Lawrence, assisted by Annelise Oster, to make the score 3-5.
Lawrence opened the second period with a goal with an assist from Reese McMullen. The second quarter saw the Cardinals score two more times, by McKenzie and Ellie Gosselin, while the Belles scored once, leaving the score at 8-4 at halftime in North Central's favor.
The third quarter saw St. Mary's attempt to close the gap as three different Belles scored. Oster scored a goal with 5:32 left in the third, then assisted McKenzie with 3:08 on the clock before scoring again with 1:01 left in the period to put the Cardinals up, 11-6. The Belles' Kathryn Kalinowski snuck in a last second goal to close the third period.
The Belles came into the fourth quarter and took complete control of the game. They scored seven unanswered points in the fourth quarter to finish the game. Lana Skibins scored two of these goals while Paige Lyons scored another two for the Belles.
MacKenzie led the offensive effort as she scored five goals, while Oster and Lawrence each scored twice. Oster also led the team in assists with two.
The Cardinals will have their next official game against Adrian College on Mar. 6 at home. Competition is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2024 schedule and live coverage options.
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