BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Junior midfielder Ariannah Ritter (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and freshman midfielder Courtenay Karls (Waukesha, Wis.) each scored an unassisted goal in the first half but the fourth-seeded Carroll University women's lacrosse team lost to top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan 14-2 in the semifinals of the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin Tournament at Tucci Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
It was the first postseason appearance in program history for Carroll, which ended the memorable, history-making spring season 13-4 overall.
Illinois Wesleyan, which improved to 14-4 overall, will host second-seeded North Central in the championship game Saturday, May 5th at noon.
The Titans outscored Carroll by a 5-2 margin in what eventually proved to be a decisive opening half, including the winning unassisted goal by junior midfielder Dani Engelbreit with 7 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.
Illinois Wesleyan, which outshot the Pioneers 26-12 and maintained a 19-9 shot-on-goal advantage, scored nine unanswered goals in the second half.
Karls also contributed a team-high seven ground balls and freshman defender Breanna Pederson (Blaine, Minn.) had five ground balls for Carroll, which committed 34 turnovers. First-team all-conference junior defender Katie Majewski (Mundelein, Ill.) had four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Junior goalkeeper Shelby Schoob (Sun Prairie, Wis.) registered five saves in playing the entire 60 minutes.
It was the final game for senior defender Emily Gleesing (Big Bend, Wis.) and senior attacker Betty Koenig (Sun Prairie, Wis.).