KENOSHA, Wis. - In her first game as acting head coach, interim head women's lacrosse coach Rebecca Congel earned a decisive victory. With fog rolling into Art Keller Field on Wednesday evening, Carthage's offense rolled as well, netting 22 goals in a 19-goal triumph. 

In the midst of her incredible 11-point performance against Illinois Institute of Technology, which is now tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history, star-senior Rachel Harris surpassed 200 career points. Harris passed former teammate Hanna Holloway for seventh place in Carthage history in career points scored, and is only five back of passing another former teammate and Carthage women's lacrosse legend - Margaux Giacotto. 



 

• Final score: Carthage 22, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) 3
• Location: Art Keller Field - Kenosha, Wisconsin
• Records: Carthage 6-2, Illinois Institute of Technology 1-5

 

• Carthage was able to get on the board first with two solo goals from senior Rachel Harris 
• The dynamic duo this season of Piper LeFevre and Rachel Harris teamed up to score Carthage's fourth goal of the period at the 9:01 mark
• The Firebirds continued to score en route to a 6-0 run before ITT was able to get on the board, netting its first goal with just under four minutes remaining in the opening period. 
• A second goal from Higgins put the Firebirds up 7-1 after IIT's first goal of the night
• The Firebirds ended the first quarter leading 9-1.
• Rachel Harris continued her incredible play offensively with a goal at the 13:12 mark of the second period.  
• Elizabeth Oda found the back of the net for her first goal of the night, putting Carthage up 11-1.
• Carthage ended the second period after another 4-0 run to put them ahead 15-1 - taking a commanding lead in foggy conditions at Art Keller Field. 
• The Firebirds began the second half with another 5-0 run to start the third period, taking a formidable 20-1 lead heading into the game's final 15 minutes of action. 
• IIT scored twice more in the fourth period but time ran out on the Scarlet Hawks, with Carthage capturing the home victory. The final from tonight's game was 22-3 in favor of the Firebirds, who look to start a new winning streak after falling to Transylvania last Saturday. 

 

• In standard-fashion, Rachel Harris was scintillating against IIT. Harris scored five goals, assisted six teams in her 11-point performance. Aside from her outstanding play offensively, Harris also scooped up four ground balls, caused two turnovers, and led the team in draw controls with six. In the highlight of the night, Harris fooled the defense with an incredible behind-the-back goal from five yards out. 
• Maddie Berni played an excellent game on both ends of the field, scoring three times, assisting three teammates, grabbing a team-high six ground balls, and tallying three draw controls. Berni also forced a turnover. 
• Elizabeth Oda scored five goals in the win and also collected four ground balls. 
• Also scoring multiple goals for Carthage were Piper LeFevre (four), Kyleigh Higgins (two), and Rosie Nolan (two). Shannon Heitschmidt found the back of the net once for Carthage and was second on the team in groundballs (five). 
• In goal, this week's CCIW Women's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week Alessandra Almendarez surrendered only one goal in 45 minutes of play - saving four shots. 

"Really proud of the girls - they brought the energy today," remarked interim head women's lacrosse coach Rebecca Congel. 

"Our upperclassmen - Rachel Harris, Maddie Berni, and Elizabeth Oda - all of our seniors really showed their expertise on the field today."

"Super proud of Kailey Wagner. She was running hard. All of our defense did a really good job shutting down Illinois Tech, and between Theresa [Carpentier] and [Alessandra Almendarez] - they did a really good job of holding down the fort in goal."

"Overall, it was a great team win and I'm super proud of the girls."



 

• Coach Congel and the Firebirds hit the road for their next four games, with the first of four games taking place on Saturday, March 25 at Aurora University. Action will begin at 1 p.m.