WAUKESHA, Wis. - Despite riding high into the CCIW Women's Lacrosse Tournament with a three-game win streak and as winners of four of its last five contests, the No. 3 Carthage Firebirds women's lacrosse team suffered a sobering defeat at the hands of the No. 2 Carroll Pioneers. 



 

• Final score: No. 2 Carroll (Wis.) 15, No. 3 Carthage 6
• Location: Schneider Stadium - Waukesha, Wisconsin
• Records: Carthage 11-7 (4-2 CCIW), Carroll 13-3 (5-1 CCIW) 

 

• Carroll struck first and struck hard, scoring the game's first six goals in the first period to set a formidable tone. The No. 2 Pioneers led 6-0 after one period of playoff lacrosse. 
• The Pios scored the first goal of the second period to go ahead 7-0 before the Firebirds finally got on the board. All-CCIW Second-Team first-year athlete Kyleigh Higgins found the back of the net at the 8:14 mark of the period. 
• Three more goals from Carroll, however, gave the Pios their largest lead of the night going into halftime, leading 10-1. 
• The three goals to end the first half were followed by three more unanswered from Carroll in the third period, with the two seed extending its lead to 13-1. Carthage scored the game's next three goals, with a pair of conversions from Maddie Berni sandwiching a goal by Elizabeth Oda. 
• The home team scored two more before the conclusion of the third period, bringing a 15-4 lead into the final 15 minutes of lacrosse. 
• Though Carthage held Carroll scoreless in the fourth period and scored twice, the deficit was too large for the Firebirds to overcome - leading to a 15-6 defeat in Waukesha. 

 

• Maddie Berni scored twice in this evening's contest. 
• Kyleigh Higgins led the Firebirds in points with five, as the first-year field general assisted four teammates and scored once herself. Higgins also led the team in draw controls with five. 
• Alessandra Almendarez, the team's leader in ground balls, picked up five more tonight to lead the team. Almendarez also saved ten shots. 

"Really proud of the girls this season. Obviously, not the result we wanted in today's semifinal game, but our second-half effort was really, really strong," remarked Carthage Firebirds interim head women's lacrosse coach Rebecca Congel. 

"Super proud of the girls - Sydney Kuyava on defense really shut down some of their attackers, Izzy Rahmel as well. Our defensive effort was amazing. Alessandra Almendarez did an incredible job keeping us in the game in that first half and had some big saves in the second."

"On our attacking end, all the girls really jelled together in that second half and I just can't reiterate enough how proud of them I am and how resilient they've been this entire season. I'm really, really excited for what's next for this team."