RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- Despite late efforts from the Scarlet Hawks, the Concordia-Chicago women's lacrosse team came out aggressive from the start to topple the MWLC's second-seeded Illinois Tech in a 13-8 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- With today's win, the Cougars handed IIT their first conference loss of the season.
- Graduate student Anna Kellar finished with yet another eight-point performance, marking the third time this season she has scored eight or more total points in a single game.
- Senior Margaret Doane was crucial all across the field today, dishing her season-high five assists while picking up five ground balls and causing four turnovers.
- Emily Cyrwus was quick from the midfield, picking up a game-high eight draw controls. She also tallied one goal and one assist.
The game opened up tight-lipped, with no team scoring until nearly five minutes in. At the 25-minute mark however, Kellar wanted things to get rolling. Pulling up to the eight, Doane found Kellar cutting in front of the crease and completed the clean pass, allowing Kellar to give CUC the 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, IIT pushed the ball up field and found the back of the net to tie things up early on.
Despite the Scarlet Hawks making it a game early on, the Cougars turned up the heat and closed out the first half with a five-point, unanswered scoring run. Goals from Cyrwus, Kellar,
Sandra Acevedo and a pair from
Sydney Fuller allowed CUC to cruise into halftime with a comfortable 6-1 lead.
Illinois Tech and Concordia-Chicago exchanged goals in the opening minutes of half two, but Kellar shut things right back down with two consecutive goals in a four-minute span.
With a 9-2 lead and 17 minutes left to play, CUC tacked on four more goals, including a no-look behind the back goal from Acevedo.
Both teams battled back and forth in the second half, with each of the MWLC squads recording seven goals apiece. However, IIT's late efforts would be no match for CUC's early surge, as the Cougars held onto the 13-8 conference win.
CUC will return to action this weekend, as the team heads to Aurora for more conference play at 12 p.m.
