KENOSHA, Wis. -  A great deal of history was made tonight at Art Keller Field in the Firebirds' massive 18-3 non-conference win over Concordia (Wis.). In the victory, first-year athlete Piper LeFevre scored seven goals, which is tied for the third-most in a single game in program history, senior Elizabeth Oda's first goal of the night marked the 100th of her illustrious career as a Firebird, and - last but not least - Maddie Berni's 11 draw controls is tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. 



 

• Final score: Carthage 18, Concordia University (Wis.) 3. 
• Location: Art Keller Field - Kenosha, Wisconsin. 
• Records: Carthage 3-1, Concordia 3.  

 

• Carthage started the game on an 8-0 run, outscoring the visiting Falcons 7-0 in the first period. First-year student-athlete Piper LeFevre scored four of those goals, while Rachel Harris, Elizabeth Oda, and Rosie Nolan scored the remainder. 
• Concordia's Eliana Fuchs got the Falcons on the board, ending the Firebirds run at the 9:37 mark of the second period. Carthage rattled off five more goals to end the first half - each scored by a separate athlete. Oda, Nolan, LeFevre, Berni, and Higgins all found the back of the net to put the Firebirds ahead 13-1 at the half. 
• The second half started well for the home team, with Carthage scoring on a woman-down goal by Rosie Nolan at the 13:29 mark - assisted by Shannon Heitschmidt. 
• Heitschmidt took her turn with scoring, becoming the sixth Firebird to score a goal with a conversion at the 9:12 mark of the third period, with the assist coming from sophomore Sydney Kuyava. 
• LeFevre scored twice more and Maddie Berni converted for the sixth time this season to salt things away and give Carthage another impressive non-conference victory at home. The Firebirds walked away with an 18-3 win - the third game in a row in which they scored precisely 18 goals. 

 

• First-year athlete Piper LeFevre put forth another excellent performance, scoring a game-high seven goals tonight. LeFevre's seven goals ties her for fourth all-time in single-game goals in program history, tying her with a number of accomplished alumni. The freshman-phenom also corralled three ground balls, earned two draw controls, and forced two turnovers. 
• Rosie Nolan, also a first-year athlete, found the back of the net three times in the win. 
• Joining Nolan with multiple goals in the contest were Elizabeth Oda, Maddie Berni, and Rachel Harris - who all scored two goals. Oda's first goal of the night marked the 100th of her remarkable career. 
• In addition to her two goals and five ground balls, Maddie Berni registered 11 draw controls, which is tied for the fourth-most draw controls in a single game in program history with Jessie Gibson's 11 in 2020.
• Goalkeeper Alessandra Almendarez, who is rapidly approaching 300 career saves, picked up two more tonight - allowing only three goals in 54 minutes of action. Almendarez made a number of incredibly impressive saves in front of the net tonight, showcasing why she was an all-conference second-team selection a year ago. 

"Really proud of the way our girls showed up tonight," said Carthage head women's lacrosse coach John Sung. "I think we're really starting to gain momentum."

"I thought the draw control unit was really good again. I thought Piper [LeFevre] and Maddie Berni did a really nice job of controlling the possessions today. I was really happy with the way Piper came out and was assertive and looked fantastic; I think she had seven goals, so I'm really happy with the way she's developing."

"Again, I felt like the rest of the offense was clicking today - which is always fun when that unit can get going. Defensively, I thought we really, in the first half, did a good job of clamping down and doing what we needed to do to get the tone of the game in hand. We're really focusing on our next game, trying to play a full 60 minutes of good lacrosse."

"Excited about where we are and looking forward to getting out there on Saturday."



 

• The Firebirds play one more game at home before heading down to Kentucky for spring break, where they're set to take on Centre College first on Wednesday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. Women's lacrosse takes on Transylvania three days later on Saturday, March 18 at 11 a.m.