Contact: Tyler Bremner, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

ELMHURST, Ill. (April 12, 2025) – The North Central College women's lacrosse team faced their first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) opponent, the Elmhurst University Bluejays, breaking ahead in the fourth period for an 8-6 victory.

North Central (8-3, 1-0 CCIW) took the first lead of the match 62 seconds in after Anna Williamson broke free to push a 1-0 lead. Elmhurst (5-4, 0-1 CCIW) recalibrated quickly, finding room in a man-up situation for Hannah Jacob to score and tie the game with 11 minutes to go in the first period. The next 10 minutes saw the Cardinals hammer the net with six shots on goal to the Bluejays' four, leaving the score tied into the second period.

The first eight minutes would have to tick by for the Elmhurst defense to crack, allowing Annelise Oster to fire one past Jacq Vanoni to go back ahead. The Cardinal defense continued to dominate, not allowing a single shot attempt over the final eight minutes of the second period to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.

Entering the third period, the Bluejays remained determined, finding room to score past Alyssa Rose with a shot from Gracie Eastman to tie the game over two minutes in. North Central was held firmly away from the goal with only one shot attempt before four minutes ticked by, when Jacob and Paige Moniz combined to force the game's largest lead at 4-2. The Cardinals responded with a two-goal run of their own a minute later, between Lucy Culig and Williamson to tie the game. The final five minutes saw both defenses narrowly fend off close shots to remain tied into the final 15 minutes.

Oster broke ahead 92 seconds into the final period with a free-position goal to go ahead 5-4. Elmhurst retaliated two minutes later with nearly back-to-back goals from Gracie Eastman and Moniz to go ahead 6-5. With the clock ticking down below six minutes, Zoe Pam and Abby MacKenzie fired off a 2-0 run to jump ahead by one. With just one second remaining, Oster broke free to seal the score at 8-6.

Offensively as a team, the Cardinals eclipsed the Bluejays in shots on goal 26-11 while nearly splitting draw controls 9-8. Oster led the way with three goals and three groundballs. Rose secured the net throughout all 60 minutes, earning seven saves.

North Central continues its CCIW schedule at Illinois Wesleyan University on Wednesday. Access the full schedule HERE.

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