NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Carthage women's lacrosse team hit the road on Saturday to take on Saint Mary's College Belles. It was a strong outing for the Firebirds, who cruised to an 11 goal victory in their first road contest of the season.



The Firebirds wasted no time getting the offense started in the opening quarter, with Kyleigh Higgins scoring the opening goal just 1:17 into the game. Shannon Heitschmidt extended the lead less than a minute later with another goal, which was assisted by August Claridge. Claridge tallied a goal of her own with 9:06 to go in the first quarter to put the Firebirds up 3-0 early. Bailey Koestel found the back of the net for a man-up goal with 4:45 to play in the period. The goal was assisted by Kaitlyn Goff. Piper LeFevre scored a goal less than a minute later and Claridge tallied her second goal of the day to give the Firebirds a 6-0 lead with 1:25 to play in the quarter. The Belles ended the run with a goal from Valentina Rubio to make the score 6-1. Claridge earned the hat trick on a free position shot and Higgins scored her second goal of the day in the final 30 seconds as Carthage ended the opening period with an 8-1 lead.

Nearly half of the second quarter had come and gone before either side found the back of the net again. Heitschmidt scored her second goal of the game with 7:51 remaining to give the Firebirds a 9-1 lead. Claridge scored another man-up goal with the assist coming from Higgins with 6:10 to go. Emma McDonald earned her first goal of the day with 1:53 to play, lifting the Firebirds to a 12-1 lead as they went into halftime.

Saint Mary's looked to cut down the deficit quickly out of the half, with Alyssa Grant scoring a goal less than a minute into the third quarter. The Firebirds responded quickly as Goff scored back-to-back goals to extend the Carthage lead to 14-2. The Belles added another goal off a shot from Kathryn Kalinowski, before LeFevre answered with another goal. The two teams went into the fourth quarter with the Firebirds having a 15-3 advantage.

Claridge registered a man-up goal with 13:37 left in the game, which would end the scoring for the Firebirds. The Belles would add on a pair of goals in the quarter, but it would not be enough to climb back into the game.


 

• Claridge led the Firebirds with five goals and an assist
• LaFevre ended the game with three goals on seven shots
• Higgins tallied four assists
• Alessandra Almendarez earned the win in goal with five saves

"Phenomenal effort today against a good St. Mary's team," said Head Coach Rebecca Congel. "The team had lots of growth this week and with seven different goal scorers, created a lot of opportunities for each other. Both Ky and Auggie had a great day with 6 points each on the board. Our draw team and defensive units also came up on top in some big moments for us. Looking forward to getting back to work this coming week before heading to Colorado."



The Firebirds return to action on March 7 as the team heads to Colorado Springs, Colo. to take on Ursinus College at 11 a.m. MT. Carthage women's lacrosse returns to Art Keller Field on March 16 as the Firebirds host Milwaukee School of Engineering. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.