Contact:
Rachel Balinao, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant,
rabalinao@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Apr. 18, 2026) - Staying unbeaten all-time 10-0 against Elmhurst University, the North Central College women's lacrosse team earned a dominant 13-7 victory while picking up its first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) win of the season, improving to 1-2 in conference.
The Cardinals struck first just two minutes into the opening quarter when Anna Williamson found Samantha Alis for the finish to make it 1-0. Elmhurst answered quickly, tying the game at 1-1 just 15 seconds later. Rachel Lawrence then put North Central back in front after shaking her defender 1-on-1 and firing a shot home for a 2-1 advantage.
The Bluejays later tied the game 2-2 before Lawrence scored twice late in the quarter, once on a free-position shot and once off a Williamson assist to give North Central a 4-2 lead.
Opening the second, the Bluejays put away another to cut their deficit to 4-3 while the Cardinals saw multiple fouls and cards right away. Anaise Kaufman attacked the cage at speed and finished a pass from Williamson, her third assist of the game, to extend the lead to 5-3. Seconds later, Alis buried another shot past the Bluejays keeper with a pass threaded by Williamson to go up three.
Elmhurst answered on a free-position opportunity to pull within two, but Mikaela Busse sparked a transition opportunity, carrying the ball end-to-end and scoring to restore a three-goal cushion. Lawrence capped the half with her fourth goal, finishing a free-position attempt with just 16 seconds remaining to send the Cardinals into halftime up 8-4.
North Central carried that momentum into the second half with Lawrence to open the third quarter with her fifth goal, converting while the Cardinals were up a player to make it 9-4. Camille Krekeler followed with her first goal of the game to extend the lead to six, and Kaufman added to the run after securing the ball that led to another Lawrence finish. Just 15 seconds later, Busse capitalized off a draw control to push the score to 12-4. Busse then connected with Kaufman on a cutting finish in another player-up situation to make it 13-4.
Elmhurst scored twice early in the fourth quarter to narrow the gap to 13-6 and added one more late, but the Cardinals closed out the 13-7 win comfortably.
Lawrence recorded a career-best with six goals while Williamson recorded four assists on the day. Busse, Kaufman, and Alis each netted two goals, and Krekeler added one. CC Rovik locked it down in net with eight saves.
The Cardinals led the day with 19 out of 24 shots on goal, producing more offesnive than the Bluejays. North Central collected 25 ground balls versus Elmhurst's 14 and went 2-for-2 on free position opportunities.
North Central is back inside Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium to close up their home schedule against Carroll University in a 6 p.m. CCIW matchup.
