WAUKESHA, Wis. - The character-building growth process continued as the Carroll University women's lacrosse team lost to high-powered Carthage College 19-3 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Schneider Stadium on Wednesday.
It was the second straight home-field conference loss for the Pioneers, who dropped to 0-2 in the league standings and 2-11 overall.
Carthage, which won its fourth consecutive game to improve to 2-0 in conference and 9-3 overall, led 13-1 at halftime - propelled by eight unanswered goals over the course of the opening six minutes.
Freshman midfielder Nicole Bowman scored a game-high five goals for the Lady Reds, who outshot Carroll 37-10 - including an 18-3 shot-on-goal margin during the first 30 minutes. Senior midfielder Maddie Griffin contributed two goals and established a single-game school record with eight assists.
Graduate attacker Donna January (Andower, Minn.) scored two goals for Carroll, which generated six free-position shots but committed 20 turnovers. 
It was the sixth multiple-goal game for January, who had her first goal of the contest on an assist by junior attacker Betty Koenig (Sun Prairie, Wis.) at the 12:23 mark of the second half and followed with an unassisted shot with four minutes remaining. 
"It's been awesome to see the progression take place over the course of the last three seasons," said January, an aggressive 5-foot-3 third-year standout player who is currently the team's second-leading scorer with 20 goals this season. "We have a really good, young team with a lot of potential so the ability to adjust and make small, steady improvements has made us stronger with each competition.
"Being a graduate student, I wasn't expecting to get the opportunity to play once again this season. It was a last-minute decision so it was great to be able to come back and be a part of the experience.  Individually, I'm always working hard to improve but couldn't have achieved any success without the effort and support of my teammates. With only three games remaining, the time is short so I've been attempting to play hard and make the most of each moment. It's just been a pleasure to contribute and be a part of the team's growth."
Sophomore midfielder Katie Majewski (Mundelein, Ill.) had the other goal for Carroll. Sophomore goalkeeper Shelby Schoob (Sun Prairie, Wis.) registered 11 saves.
"Carthage is a disciplined, hard-working team that moves the ball quickly downfield so the experience of going head-to-head with them will only help in our progression," Carroll head coach Michael Hodge said. "Throughout the season, we have continued to make steady progress each time we step on the field. They are the type of team we strive to be and the matchup served as a good measuring stick. It was a difficult loss but we learned a lot from the challenge."