NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Mar. 17, 2026) - A relentless push from the North Central College women's lacrosse team wasn't quite enough to overcome Concordia University (Wis.) on Tuesday night, as the Cardinals fold 13-10 despite a furious late surge.

Concordia started with the first shot on goal, but CC Rovik came up with an early save and secured possession for North Central. Riding that momentum, Anna Williamson shook her defender and buried a 12-yard strike to put the Cardinals on the board first. The Falcons answered quickly with an assisted goal to even the score at 1-1. Midway through the quarter, Concordia tested Rovik with two consecutive shots, but she stood tall with two saves. 

Williamson struck again, slicing past Concordia goalkeeper Parks Cawthray off a quick give-and-go with Mikaela Busse to put North Central back in front. The Falcons capitlized on a player-up opportunity late in the period, knotting the score at 2-2 heading into the second quarter. 

Concordia carried that momentum throughout the quarter, scoring to take its first lead at 3-2. After a back-and-forth stretch of ground balls, Rovik helped spark a clean clear, leading to Williamson completing her first hat trick of the season to tie the game at 3-3. The Falcons closed the half on a run, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 7-3 advantage into halftime. 

Concordia extended its lead early in the third, netting two more goals to make it 9-3. North Central continued to battle, with shots from Busse, Williamson and Camille Krekeler but struggled to find the back of the net. After another Falcons goal the margin was pushed to 10-3, and the Cardinals began to rally. Busse converted a free-position opportunity with 4:44 left in the quarter, and Williamson followed with panache, netting her fourth goal of the night, cutting the deficit to 10-5. 

The Cardinals' energy carried into the fourth quarter as Krekeler ignited the comeback with back-to-back goals, the second coming on a player-up opportunity assisted by Samantha Alis. Concordia briefly halted the surge with a goal to make it 11-7 at the 11:20 mark. 

North Central refused to back down, as Busse scored twice in a two-minute span, including another free-position goal, to pull the Cardinals within 11-9. Williamson delivered again with a powerful finish to bring North Central within one, energizing the sideline and putting pressure squarely on the Falcons. Despite the late charge, Concordia capitalized on two key opportunities down the stretch to seal the 13-10 victory. 

Williamson led the Cardinals with a season-high five goals, while Busse added three and Krekeler scored two. Alis paced the team with six ground balls and caused five turnovers in a standout defensive effort.

North Central finished with 14 shots on goal to Concordia's 20, while Rovik totaled 10 saves in net. The Cardinals held a 27-24 edge in ground balls and went 2 for 4 on free-position attempts.

North Central returns to action Saturday, Mar. 21, traveling to Mount Vernon, Iowa, to face Cornell College with an opening draw set for 1 p.m.