Carthage 15, Trine 5, semifinals

The Carthage College women's lacrosse team (9-9, 6-1 Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference) ended its 2011 season on Saturday, April 30 with a 25-4 loss to Adrian College (16-4, 7-0 MWLC) in the championship game of the inaugural Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference Tournament at Adrian's Multisport Performance Stadium in Adrian, Mich.

Second seeded Carthage upended third-seeded Trine University (7-6, 5-2 MWLC), 15-5, on Friday, April 29 in the tournament semifinals, while top-seeded Adrian (15-4, 7-0 MWLC) pounded fourth-seeded North Central College (7-7, 4-3), 22-4, in the other semifinal game on Friday.

In the championship game, Carthage was trailing by just a goal, 3-2, in the early going, before Adrian ran off seven unanswered goals to take 10-2 lead. The Bulldogs led the Lady Reds, 14-2, at halftime, and outscored Carthage, 11-2, in the second period. Adrian out-shot the Lady Reds, 42-19. Rachel Johnston led the Bulldog attack with seven goals, while Amanda Lambert had six goals and two assists..Lindsey Day added three goals and two assists, while Stacey Birlson had one goal with four assists. Olivia Nino (So., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) had two of Carthage's four goals.

In the semifinals, the Lady Reds led the Thunder, 9-3, at halftime, and Carthage scored five unanswered goals at the start of the second half to take an 11-point lead, 14-3. The Lady Reds out-shot the Thunder by a 29-19 margin. Natalie Ceis (So., Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep) led Carthage with four goals. Anna Schweiss (Fr., Parker, Colo./Chaparral) and Sydney Whitaker (Fr., Bainbridge, Wash.) added three goals each, with Rachel Newill (Fr., Waterford, Mich./Kettering) collecting five ground balls. Kayla Grieser and Shelly Raupp had two goals each for Trine.