Box Score Reeling after back-to-back losses, the Concordia University Chicago women's lacrosse team (1-5, 0-0) traveled to Kalamazoo College (4-4, 0-0) for a non-conference matchup. After a hot start for Concordia, Kalamazoo took over for the final 45 minutes to pull away with the 12-9 win, giving CUC their second loss in as many days.
Inside the Box Score
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Kelli Pietrowski (Wheeling, Ill.) continued her outstanding season, recording four goals. It was the graduate student's fourth hat-trick on the season.
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Jessica Parker (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) also recorded a hat-trick with her three goals.
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Ryan McGee (Chicago, Ill.) registered 14 saves in the losing effort.
First Quarter
The Cougars and Hornets traded goals for the first six scores, but a late goal from Pietrowski with just 12 second left in the first quarter broke the streak and put Concordia up 4-3 heading into the quarter break.
Second Quarter
Kalamazoo tied things up in the first few minutes of the second. Then, facing a golden opportunity on the doorstep, McGee stoned Abbie Caza to keep the score knotted up at 4-4.
The Hornets would eventually take the lead from an Ella Spooner goal. This only lasted for roughly three minutes before Parker turned a free position shot into her second goal of the day.
Hannah Heeren snuck one past McGee in the closing minute of the half to put Kalamazoo back in charge, 6-5, and CUC went into halftime down one.
Third Quarter
Another Cougar free position shot turned goal, this time from Pietrowski, evened the score at six with 12:23 to go in the third.
After five minutes of defense following Pietrowski's goal, Kalamazoo piled on three straight goals to build a 9-6 lead, the biggest lead of the day to that point. With just over 2:00 left in the third, Rylee Orenstein (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored her second of the game to pull CUC back within two heading into the final 15 minutes.
Fourth Quarter
Needing at least two goals, it took the Cougars until the 10:29 mark of the fourth to find their eighth goal of the day thanks to a Pietrowski breakaway. Parker would complete her hat-trick just 36 seconds later to tie the game at nine goals apiece.
At this point, the Hornets's defense turned the intensity up a notch, shutting out Concordia for the final 9:53 of the game. Meanwhile, the Kalamazoo offense put up the final three goals to set the score at 12-9, which is what the scoreboard read when the clock hit zero.
Following today's loss, CUC will be back this Wednesday for their final non-conference matchup when they welcome University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to Concordia Stadium. The game starts at 2 p.m., and coverage can be found on our website, cucougars.com.
