WAUKESHA, Wis. - It had all the unexpected twists and turns of an exhilarating rollercoaster ride and came to an intense, thrilling finish.
That was a fitting way to describe the experience as the Carroll University women's lacrosse team lost to University of Chicago 13-12 in a pressure-packed College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Schneider Stadium on Wednesday night.
It was the final home game of the regular season for Carroll, which dropped to 4-2 in the highly contested conference standings and 10-4 overall with the inspired 60-minute performance.
The Pioneers travel to face North Central in the regular-season finale at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Heading into the final game of the regular season, Illinois Wesleyan remains in first place (6-0), University of Chicago is second (5-1), North Central and Carroll are tied for third (4-2) and Carthage is fourth (3-3) in the race for the top four spots in the prestigious CCIW Tournament.
Carroll trailed 11-9 in the second half but showed its heart and determination by responding with three consecutive momentum-building goals over a critical six-minute stretch - capped by a dramatic, unassisted goal by senior attacker Delaney Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) to regain a 12-11 lead with 3:51 remaining in the battle.
Chicago scored twice within the final three minutes, including the game-winner by freshman midfielder Ali Sheehy off an assist from freshman midfielder Karina Schulze with 1:45 left.
Schulze was a force throughout the night, finishing with a team-high four goals and four assists, winning 15 draw controls, fielding 13 groundballs, causing five turnovers and converting on a free-position shot for Chicago, which improved to 13-2 overall. Sheehy and freshman midfielder Audrey Kaus each had a hat trick.
Sophomore midfielder Clara Jelacic (Waukesha, Wis.) contributed a team-high four goals with an assist, fielded seven groundballs, won seven draw controls and caused two turnovers to lead Carroll.
"Coming into the game, we were all really excited to show everyone what we could do in facing University of Chicago for the first time," said Jelacic, the team's leading scorer this season who asserted herself in the second half by generating four goals - including aggressive, hard-charging back-to-back shots off assists from sophomore midfielder Michaela Johnson (Mukwonago, Wis.) to tie the game 11-11 with 6:54 left. "We could've played better but it was a good showcase of our resilience and what can happen when we play hard against a very good opponent. Throughout the night, we just didn't connect as well as we usually do but played with a lot of energy and as a team left it all out on the field. Over the course of the second half, we gradually began to drive the ball downfield, make strong cuts to the goal and finish on the assists. It's the type of effort I can be proud of any day of the week.
"Possibly being our final home game of the season, it was emotional and we wanted to get this victory for all of the seniors. Even though it didn't work out in our favor, it would be exciting to meet Chicago again in the playoffs. We're just going to give it everything we've got in our next game and see what happens. We were banged around and have some bruises but we're ready to push through it and finish the regular season strong against North Central."
Johnson followed with a hat trick, two assists, four groundballs, caused three turnovers and converted on two free-position shots for the Pioneers, who suffered their third home-field loss of the season. 
Pruitt and senior midfielder Ariannah Ritter (Sun Prairie, Wis.) each collected two goals for Carroll, which was outshot 31-19 - including a 22-15 shot-on-goal margin. Sophomore midfielder Alyssa Scharff (Nashotah, Wis.) had the other goal and freshman attacker Rachel Fordham (Waukesha, Wis.) added an assist.
Senior midfielder/defender Brittney Wald (Antigo, Wis.) had five groundballs and caused seven turnovers while sophomore midfielder Courtenay Karls (Waukesha, Wis.) added six groundballs, won three draws and caused two turnovers.
Senior goalkeeper Shelby Schoob (Sun Prairie, Wis.) registered nine saves in playing entire way, highlighted by six in the second half versus the high-powered University of Chicago offensive attack.
"This was easily one of the top three best games I've ever been a part of in my entire career," said a teary-eyed Schoob, of the hard-fought, emotional performance. "Being a senior and playing my last game on this field, I'm so proud to say we ended it with this type of effort. The season isn't even close to being over and there's a lot of lacrosse to be played so it's exciting to move on to our next challenge.
"Today, we were all in from beginning to end, refused to give in for a single second and played hard for an entire 60 minutes. It wasn't about just one player but rather how everyone came together and contributed. It was a special night and I couldn't be more proud of the effort. It was a tough battle that should set the tone for the playoffs."
Carroll fifth-year head coach Michael Hodge was proud of the way his team reacted to the big-game pressure and played aggressively the entire way.
"Chicago is a great team and I'm very proud of the way we competed," Hodge said. "It's certainly not the outcome we wanted but we battled back and demonstrated our perseverance once again. Coming off the tough loss to Illinois Wesleyan, we came back, responded with a great effort and played well tonight. Even though it didn't work out in the end, it was the type of game that will only make our program stronger. Coming into the game, both teams knew what was on the line with the playoff seedings and battled hard from start to finish. Unfortunately, we came up one goal short at the end.
"With the strength of the teams in this conference, it's all about mental toughness and maintaining it with each game. We had two good opportunities to score down the stretch and just couldn't finish. It's something we will continue to learn from and if we're lucky maybe we'll see them again in the playoffs next Wednesday."