WAUKESHA, Wis. - Sophomore midfielder Courtenay Karls (Waukesha, Wis.) successfully finished on two free-position shots but it wasn't enough as the Carroll University women's lacrosse team lost to defending league champion and NCAA Division III Tournament qualifier Illinois Wesleyan University 15-4 in a sunny, mild College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin first-place showdown at Schneider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the first conference loss of the season and snapped a five-game winning streak for Carroll, which dropped to 4-1 in the highly contested league standings and 10-3 overall with the hard-fought Senior Day performance.
The Pioneers, who are seeking a second consecutive berth in the CCIW Tournament, were outscored 9-1 in what proved to be a decisive first half - including seven unanswered goals over a key, momentum-shifting 15-minute stretch.
Senior midfielder Ariannah Ritter (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and senior midfielder/defender Delaney Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) each added a goal for Carroll, which was outshot 29-21 with a 25-14 shot-on-goal margin. Sophomore midfielders Clara Jelacic (Waukesha, Wis.) and Michaela Johnson (Mukwonago, Wis.) each contributed an assist.
The Pioneers converted on only 2 of 7 free-position shot opportunities.
Senior attacker Claudia Richman scored a game-high five goals for Illinois Wesleyan, which improved to 5-0 in conference and 13-2 overall.
Sophomore goalkeeper Janaye Godfrey was a stabilizing force, recording eight critical saves in playing 47 minutes, 31 seconds for the Titans.
Senior goalkeeper Shelby Schoob (Sun Prairie, Wis.) registered 10 saves in playing the entire 60 minutes for Carroll.
"We simply were beaten by a very good team," said Carroll fifth-year head coach Michael Hodge, of the difficult challenge. "Coming off the high of defeating Carthage to the low of this game, we've experienced a wide range of emotions the last few days. Looking back, we're definitely better than what we showed on the field today. At this point of the season, sometimes its good to be humbled because it will only serve as motivation to play up to our potential in the games to come. 
"If one shot goes a quarter inch to the right and another a quarter inch to the left, it could've been a much different first half. Unfortunately, that didn't happen so we just have to lick our wounds and move forward."
Ritter, Pruitt, Schoob, senior midfielder Katie Majewski (Mundelein, Ill.), senior defender/midfielder Brittney Wald, senior defender/midfielder Kaitlin Squier (Appleton, Wis.) and senior attacker Amanda Ferr (Franklin, Wis.) were fittingly honored for their valuable, lasting contributions to the Carroll program in an emotional, pregame on-field presentation.
"Each one of the seniors have done their part and more in helping to develop the program," Hodge said. "Throughout the course of this season and in past seasons, their ongoing perseverance has played a valuable role in our success. They have always had the ability to bounce back after a tough loss, play well and that's exactly what we expect to happen next week.
On a positive note, this wasn't their last home game and we still have a lot of lacrosse to play yet (referring to a home-field battle with University of Chicago (April 24) and road matchup versus North Central (April 27) in the regular-season finale) so we're looking forward to the next two conference games. This group has done more for the program than any other senior class both with their efforts on and off the field. We are truly thankful for everything they have done."