NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Mar. 10, 2026) - In a Tuesday night battle inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, the North Central College women's lacrosse team powered past Illinois Institute of Technology, 4–1, before lightning ended the game early in the fourth quarter. Anna Williamson and Mikaela Busse each scored two goals to lead the Cardinals to their second straight win of the season.

North Central opened the contest by winning the draw control as Samantha Alis secured possession. Just 40 seconds into the game, Busse tested IIT goalkeeper Samantha Gargiulo with the Cardinals' first shot of the night. Both teams traded possessions early, but neither side found offensive rhythm. The Cardinals fire six shots in the opening quarter though both teams kept each other scoreless in the quarter. 

The Cardinals wasted little time striking in the second quarter. After a successful clear in the opening 30 seconds, Busse dodged her defender and found the back of the net to give North Central a 1-0 lead. Anaise Kaufman kept the offensive pressure on the Scarlet Hawks but was unable to convert. 

Illinois Tech responded with back-to-back shots on goal, one hitting the post and another turned away by goalkeeper CC Rovik. Moments later, Camille Krekeler found Williamson wide open in the critical scoring area, and Williamson finished to extend the lead to 2-0. North Central's defense held the Scarlet Hawks scoreless in the first half, allowing just two shots on goal while Rovik made one save. Gargiulo kept IIT within range of the Cardinals with 11 first-half saves. 

The Scarlet Hawks secured the draw control coming out of halftime, but the Cardinals quickly regained possession following an IIT green card. Krekeler fired a shot on goal though Gargiulo again came up with the save. Five minutes into the third quarter, Williamson added her second goal of the night on a free-position opportunity while North Central played a player up, pushing the lead to 3-0. The Cardinals continued to apply pressure with multiple shots before Illinois Tech broke through for its first goal of the game at the 6:35 mark of the third to make it 3-1. 

A lightning delay halted play midway through the third quarter, but the teams returned to finish the contest with Williamson and Busse each recording additional shots on goal.

Trying to beat the storm, the fourth quarter moved quickly. Busse sealed the win with 14:34 remaining, finishing a player-up opportunity off a feed from Williamson to give the Cardinals a 4-1 advantage before lightning forced the game to be called. 

Busse recorded her 10th and 11th goals of the season through the team's first four games while leading North Central with 10 shots on the night. Williamson added her third and fourth goals of the season along with one assist. Leah Frystak led the defensive effort with five caused turnovers, while Susie Bongiorno collected three ground balls.

North Central finished with 22 total shots, including 17 on goal, forcing Gargiulo to make 14 saves. Illinois Tech recorded seven shots with four on goal as Rovik finished with four saves. Both teams collected 10 ground balls, while the Cardinals held a 9-6 edge in caused turnovers. With the win over Illinois Tech, North Central improves to 2–2 on the season.

North Central women's lacrosse concludes its spring break Mar. 14 as they travel to Louisville, Ky., to face Spaulding University with a draw control scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET).