River Forest, Ill. — The Concordia University Chicago women's lacrosse team welcomed the Eagles of Edgewood College to Concordia Stadium on Tuesday for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal game. Behind a strong defensive performance and bursts of goal scoring, the Cougars defeated the Eagles 12-5 to advance to the championship game.
It was a low-scoring first quarter, but the Cougars jumped on the board first with a goal from junior Rylee Orenstein (Walnut Creek, Calif.) off an odd bounce out in front of the Edgewood net.
The score remained 1-0 for nearly six minutes before leading goal-scorer Elizabeth Cyrwus (Chicago, Ill.) scored her first goal of the afternoon to double the early CUC lead.
Orenstein scored her second goal of the day just 23 seconds later on a free position attempt, giving the Cougars some breathing room as the quarter drew near close.
She'd add another just over nine minutes into the second quarter, snapping a long scoring drought for both sides and giving her yet another hat trick. She now has seven on the season.
The Cougars were able to keep Edgewood off the board in the second quarter as well thanks to stingy defense and a strong performance in net from junior Ryan McGee (Chicago, Ill.), who saved all five shots she faced in the first half.
This defensive pressure was best highlighted on CUC's fifth goal of the game, which came courtesy of junior Nina Naes (St. Louis, Mo.) following a turnover in the Eagles' zone.
Hustle stats favored the Cougars heavily in the first half, which helped the team overcome 19 turnovers. They held a 23-6 advantage on ground balls in the first 30 minutes, five of which came from senior Sarah Ludwig (Roselle, Ill.).
Edgewood broke the ice in the second half with their first goal of the day following a free position attempt, cutting the lead to 5-1.
After going scoreless for the first nine and a half minutes of the third quarter, the Cougars were finally able to score off of a great shot from Elizabeth Cyrwus.
This was answered just 11 seconds later, however, as Edgewood scored right off the faceoff and cut the lead back to four.
With the time winding down in the quarter, the Cougar defense forced yet another turnover and once again converted it to a goal, this time coming from sophomore Jessica Parker (Lake In The Hills, Ill.).
Parker appeared to score her second straight goal in the fourth quarter, but it was ultimately disallowed. This opened the door for Edgewood to pull back within four as they scored first for the second time in as many quarters.
A great feed from junior Grace Miller (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) to Elizabeth Cyrwus on a free position attempt gave the senior a hat trick and the Cougars a five-goal advantage.
They grew this lead just one minute later thanks to a goal from Senior Emily Cyrwus (Chicago, Ill.), who fought past defenders to put the shot on goal.
Multiple chances on a free position attempt allowed the Eagles to make it a 9-4 game, but this would prove to be the end of their rally.
The Cougars put a bow on the game with two goals in the span of 16 seconds. A Cyrwus-to-Cyrwus connection in front of the net gave Elizabeth her fourth of the day. Orenstein then took the ensuing draw control all the way to the net for the fourth goal of her own.
Leading 11-4, graduate student Kelli Pietrowski (Wheeling, Ill.) showed an impressive flash of speed by taking the ball coast-to-coast for her first goal of the afternoon.
Edgewood scored their fifth and final goal of the game with only 11 seconds remaining, as the Cougars cruised to a 12-5 victory.
Inside the Box Score
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Both Orenstein and Elizabeth Cywrus recorded five points on the day.
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Miller dished out a pair of assists.
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McGee finished with nine saves.
With the win, the Cougars advance to their second consecutive conference championship game. They'll head to Aurora University on Saturday for the title game, which will begin at either 3 or 5 p.m. pending the result of the Aurora Men's Lacrosse semifinal game tomorrow.
An updated game time will follow once the information is available, and coverage for all the action can be found online at cucougars.com/coverage.
