WAUKESHA, Wis. - Michaela Johnson finished the job with authority.
Johnson, a 5-foot-5 freshman midfielder from Mukwonago, Wis., scored what proved to be the winning goal off an assist from junior midfielder Ariannah Ritter (Sun Prairie, Wis.) with 3 minutes, 29 seconds remaining as the Carroll University women's lacrosse team held on for a thrilling 8-7 victory over Saint Mary's College in a cold, blustery nonconference game at Schneider Stadium on Saturday evening.
It was the first one-goal victory of the season for Carroll, which improved its program-best record to 7-0 overall.
On the game-winner, Ritter established position toward the back right side of the goal, quickly took possession and abruptly made a perfectly timed pass to Johnson.
Johnson, who charged the goal from the right side, immediately gained control of the ball in stride and fired a strong shot into the back of the net to finish the fist-pumping play.
It was a historically significant shot for Johnson, who registered a hat trick and an assist in the physical, hard-fought battle - establishing single-season program records for goals (30) and points (36) in the process - surpassing the prior marks of (29) and (35) set by former standout midfielder/attacker Kailey Leahy in 2016.
"It was a crazy, nerve-wracking experience down the stretch," said Johnson, of the pressure-packed battle. "When the game was tied and the people in the stands were screaming to try to get in your head, it forced you to focus even more, work through the pressure and make the most of each and every shot."
"When they began to double and triple team the person on the ball, we really attempted to keep our heads up and make good passes to the cutters. As the game went on, we were able to work through a lot of the jitters, execute up to our potential and get even stronger heading into the second half. That's when we started to have a lot of success."
Freshman midfielder Clara Jelacic (Waukesha, Wis.) contributed a team-high four goals for the Pioneers, who pulled out the close victory despite being outshot 26-21 - including a 17-16 shot-on-goal margin.
Jelacic scored all of her goals in the opening half, highlighted by two successful tension-filled free-position shots for high-powered Carroll, which caused 24 turnovers.
"Having traveled so much with two out-of-state road games this past week, we just wanted to come back home, work through some of the leftover fatigue and get back to playing our game," said Jelacic, who has completed a dominant 1-2 scoring punch for the high-octane Pioneers this year - moving into a second-place tie with Leahy for goals (29) and points (35) in a season. "It was cold, the wind was a factor and it was our most challenging game of the season. Down the stretch, we knew that we had to make the most of each possession so it was just a matter of working through the nerves, staying calm and playing with confidence.
Looking back, it really showed our mentality and how we've consistently been able to execute. That ability to dictate the tempo has been a big key to our succcess so it was great to be able to do it again and ring the victory bell."
Junior attacker Amanda Ferr (Franklin, Wis.) had the first goal of the contest on an assist from freshman midfielder Alyssa Scharff (Nashotah, Wis.) for the Pioneers.
Ritter, one of six uppeclassmen on the young roster this season, became the program's career point leader with (67) - breaking Leahy's former mark of (64) set in 2016.
Junior goalkeeper Shelby Schoob (Sun Prairie, Wis.) was a stabilizing force throughout the day, finishing with 10 critical saves to help preserve the victory.
Clinging to a 7-6 lead with time winding down in the second half, Schoob responded to the pressure by delivering a crucial momentum-shifting save with 4:27 left.
"It was our closest game of the season so it was exciting to come away with a good, character-building victory," said a smiling Schoob, who showcased her leadership and durability by competing the entire 60 minutes. "Having faced them in a half-game scrimmage earlier in the year, we knew it was going to be a tough challenge. This effort will really serve as a good motivator because it showed that we could go head-to-head with a strong team and get the job done.
"At the start of the day, I really tried to stay mentally prepared for anything to happen and just wanted to step up and play my best for my teammates. To be able to come back home, end Spring Break with our third victory of the week and ring the bell was amazing. Everyone worked hard from start to finish, contributed and responded to a difficult test. I'm so happy with the way it worked out and truly am on cloud nine."
St. Mary's, which scored to trim the deficit to 8-7 with 1:33 remaining, attempted to tie the game in the final minute but Carroll freshman defender Rebecca Douglas (Waukesha, Wis.) forced a turnover with 58 seconds left.
Carroll head coach Michael Hodge was proud of the way his team responded to arguably its most difficult challenge of the early season.
"We were very happy with the performance," said Hodge, whose team commemorated its three Spring Break wins by running to the edge of the field, lining up single file and enthusiastically ringing the victory bell three times. "Coming into the day, we really thought it was going to be a hard-fought, grind-it-out battle between two pretty evenly matched teams so it was great to be able to rise to the occasion and come away with a close, confidence-building victory that showed our true character.
"With it being a close game from beginning to end, it was nice to get a few big goals when we needed them and then back it up by playing strong defense the rest of the way (also noting the effort of Schoob). It was just a complete team effort where we dug down and fought until time finally ran out. During the final few minutes, it was exciting to see how we reacted to the situation with the game on the line. That resilience made the difference tonight."
Clare Theisen scored two goals for St. Mary's, which dropped to 4-2 overall.