WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Carroll University women's soccer team lost to Elmhurst College 1-0 in a cold College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Schneider Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the fifth loss by a one-goal margin for Carroll, which dropped to 0-3-2 in the conference standings and 3-8-4 overall following the gritty, tough Senior Day effort.
Freshman midfielder Lauryn Wesoloski scored what became the winning goal off an assist from senior forward Sidney O' Keefe at the 72:36 mark for Elmhurst, which posted its fourth consecutive shutout to improve to 4-1 in league and 9-2-1 overall.
It was a frustrating outcome for Carroll, which outshot the Bluejays 10-7 in the contest but struggled to finish on several opportunities despite maintaining a 5-4 shot-on-goal margin.
Senior forward/midfielder Delaney Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) generated four shots on goal and senior defender Kimmy Wiley (Kewaunee, Wis.) had the other for the young Pioneers, who suffered their third straight home-field conference loss.
Junior goalkeeper Christina O' Block (Libertyville, Ill.) registered three saves in playing the entire 90 minutes.
Pruitt, Wiley, senior midfielder Jensen Meyer (Germantown, Wis.), injured senior goalkeeper Sabrina Sieger (Waukesha, Wis.) and senior midfielder Gina La Macchia (Mequon, Wis.) were honored in a special post-game on-field ceremony to cap the day.
"I've done a lot of reflecting over the course of the past week and couldn't be more happy to have been a part of this school and the Carroll University women's soccer program," said Pruitt, a two-time CCIW all-conference selection who leads the team with eight goals this season and currently ranks fourth all-time in program history with 48. "It's been a fun, special four years and the people I've had the opportunity to get to know and make connections with during my time have truly made it a family.
"To go from my favorite memory of scoring the winning goal in the finals of the Midwest Conference Tournament my freshman year (referring to a 1-0 overtime victory over Knox College) to this point has been a fantastic transition. Looking back, it's been a great experience so I truly don't want it to end. Throughout this season, we've played well but have gone through a lot of difficult losses as the result of not finishing. With four games remaining to be played yet (including three CCIW matchups on the road versus Illinois Wesleyan, North Park and Millikin), we just have to continue to roll with the punches, strive to play up to our potential and do our best to show everyone that we're still a force to be reckoned with down the stretch."
For Carroll head coach Susie Foster, who guided the program to back-to-back CCIW Tournament appearances the past two years, the contributions of this year's seniors have been invaluable when looking at the success of the program.
"Regardless of the final outcome, this day was all about the seniors and honoring their contributions to the program over the course of the last four years," said a smiling Foster, noting three consecutive postseason appearances (highlighted by a Midwest Conference championship and school-history making two CCIW Tournament berths) among a long list of memorable accomplishments."They not only had an impact as soccer players on the field but more importantly as good people off of it. Looking back on the day, it was only fitting that this group's special legacy was honored.
"After discussing it in the locker room, everyone came out ready to go and dedicated this effort to each one of the seniors. Even though it ended with a close loss to a very good conference opponent and we were disappointed with how things turned out, it couldn't diminish the excitement centered around the post-game ceremony and honoring their standard of excellence. It was awesome to be a part of it."