NAPERVILLE, Ill. - For the second-consecutive game, the Carthage Firebirds women's lacrosse team scored over 20 goals in a double-digit dismantling of a conference foe - this time at the expense of North Central College. Carthage won 21-5 as six different players scored at least two goals, highlighting the team's balance offensively. 



 

• Final score: Carthage 21, North Central 5
• Location: Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium - Naperville, Illinois
• Records: Carthage 10-6 (3-2 CCIW), North Central 5-11 (2-3 CCIW) 

 

• Veteran Elizabeth Oda opened up the evening's scoring, connecting on an unassisted goal just 33 seconds into the game. North Central would answer on a free position shot minutes later to know the score at one apiece. 
• Carthage's Shannon Heitschmidt broke the tie at the 8:08 mark before four goals from the Firebirds established a firm 6-1 lead at the end of the first period. The four goals from Carthage were separated by a little over two minutes of game time. 
• Maddie Berni found the back of the net once again to start the second period, putting Carthage ahead 7-1. Three more goals from the visitors pushed Carthage's lead to 10-1 before North Central snapped its scoring drought at the 7:45 mark of the period. 
• Carthage scored the last four goals of the second period to go ahead 14-2, creating a sizable gap between the two programs with one half remaining. 
• North Central converted first in the third period, netting a goal at the 11:50 mark to pull within 11. Two separate occasions of two-goal mini-bursts from Carthage, however, expanded the Firebird-lead to 15. Carthage led 18-3 after three periods of Tuesday-evening lacrosse. 
• Kyleigh Higgins scored the first goal of the final period just 17 seconds in, doing so after recording the draw control. Goals from Heitschmidt and Harris put the Firebirds in front 21-3 before a pair of garbage-time goals from the Cardinals made it a 21-5 game. Neither team would score again as the Firebirds walked away with another impressive victory on the road. 
• Carthage took 22 more shots than North Central, doing so with the help of extra possessions generated by 16 caused turnovers and a draw control rate of 83% (25/30). 

 

• Rachel Harris led the team in points in the victory, recording six with five goals and an assist. The senior also recorded eight draw controls. 
• Kyleigh Higgins, Maddie Berni, and Shannon Heitschmidt each recorded five points for Carthage in the win. Higgins added three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and ten draw controls, which were a game high tonight. Berni earned seven draw controls, while Heitschmidt led the team in ground balls with three. 
• Elizabeth Oda (three) and Piper LeFevre (two) also scored multiple goals for Carthage. 
• Alessandra Almendarez played well, allowing only five goals in 60 minutes in goal. The senior saved seven shots and led the team in ground balls with five. 

"Really proud of the girls for the team effort that they put in tonight," offered up Carthage College interim head women's lacrosse coach Rebecca Congel. 

"Kyleigh Higgins led us with ten draw controls and was awesome, [Alessandra Almendarez] had seven saves, [Maddie] Berni had some great goals, Rachel [Harris] had some great goals. Overall, the entire team really set each other up for success and that's fun to watch."

"The biggest thing is growth - we're gonna keep growing. We have a big game on Saturday and we're really looking forward to getting back out there and playing hard for our team."



 

• The team's final game of the season is this Saturday, April 29, where the program will take on the Illinois Wesleyan Titans and honors its accomplished seniors. The first whistle is set for 1:00 p.m.