KENOSHA, Wis. - Playing on its home turf for the first time since March 22, the Carthage Firebirds women's lacrosse team returned to Art Keller Field to a large crowd and an even larger victory. Carthage got out in front early and never looked back, running by Augustana (Ill.) 23-7 to grab its first conference win of the season. 



 

• Final score: Carthage 23, Augustana (Ill.) 7
• Location: Art Keller Field - Kenosha, Wisconsin
• Records: Carthage 8-5 (1-1 CCIW), Augustana 5-5 (0-2 CCIW) 

 

• In their return to Art Keller Field after nearly a month away, the Firebirds started hot against the visiting Vikings. Carthage scored the game's first three goals in less than five minutes of game time to go ahead 3-0. 
• Augustana answered at the 9:12 mark before the Firebirds rattled off another trio of goals in the following two minutes - all scored by seniors (Harris, Oda, Berni). 
• The Vikings converted again at the 5:30 mark to pull within four, trailing 6-2 in the opening period, before Carthage closed the period with confidence. Goals from four different Firebirds extended the home team's lead to eight at the period's conclusion, with Carthage ahead 10-2. 
• Carthage started the second period in a similar fashion to the first, scoring its first three goals before surrendering one to Augustana. Goals from Berni, Oda, and Higgins put Carthage ahead 13-2 before the answer from the road team. LeFevre and Harris closed the first half with one goal apiece to push Carthage's halftime lead to 15-3. 
• Piper LeFevre scored the first two goals of the third period to give her team its largest lead of the afternoon (14). 
• An Augustana goal was promptly followed by three more from Carthage, including a conversion from senior Amber Moser - the first of her career. The Firebirds led 20-4 with one period remaining. 
• Theresa Carpentier replaced Alessandra Almendarez between the posts to start the fourth period, spelling the veteran goalkeeper after a terrific first three periods. 
• A pair of goals from Augustana to start the fourth forced a Firebird timeout - after which Carthage scored thrice more in the period. One of the three was scored by Moser, who netted one for the second time this afternoon. Moser's goal was followed by a conversion from 2022 CCIW All-Conference First-Team defender Sydney Kuyava - the first of her budding career. 
• A buzzer-beating goal from Augustana altered the final score but not the victor - as Carthage won 23-7 in a nice bounce back win at home. Carthage took 31 more shots than Augustana, limiting the Vikings to only 12 looks offensively. The Firebirds were a perfect 9-9 on clear attempts and controlled 25 of 31 draws in the win.

 

• The draw control unit as a whole was impressive, as Carthage collected 81% of all draw controls this afternoon. Kyleigh Higgins, in particular, was exceptional; the first-year athlete recorded 12 draw controls against Augustana, which ties her for the second-most in a single game in program history with Jessie Gibson, who did the same in 2020. The mark is also the highest in any game played by a CCIW athlete this season. Higgins also assisted four teammates and leads the conference in total assists (25). 
• In goal, Alessandra Almendarez allowed only four goals in 45 minutes of action. 
• Elizabeth Oda netted a season-high five goals in the win, assisting two teammates as well. Oda also picked up five ground balls and tallied four draw controls. 
• Piper LeFevre and Rachel Harris each scored four times for the Firebirds. LeFevre added four ground balls while Harris added three assists, four ground balls, and six draw controls. Harris is now tied for the conference lead in points with 66. 
• Maddie Berni, Shannon Heitschmidt, and Amber Moser all scored twice for Coach Congel's team. The two goals for Moser were the first of her career. 
• Sydney Kuyava scored the first goal of her career today. 

"Really, really proud of these girls and the total team effort they put forth in the game today - it's exciting to get our first conference win. We can't wait to get out there for our next game and build off the progress we made today," proudly remarked Carthage Firebirds interim head women's lacrosse coach Rebecca Congel. 

"Excited to see our girls step up into such big roles. It was awesome to see Amber [Moser] score her first two collegiate goals - same with [Sydney] Kuyava. I'm excited to watch them all continue to grow on the field."



 

• The Firebirds look to build off of their big win, hosting Carroll for a conference battle on Wednesday, April 19 at 7 p.m.