WAUKESHA, Wis. - Katrina Hardin scored a career-high six goals, including five in the first half, to lead a high-powered offensive attack as the Carroll University women's lacrosse team upset three-time defending conference tournament champion Illinois Wesleyan University 13-11 in a tough, physical College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin opener at Schneider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the first victory over Illinois Wesleyan in program history for Carroll, which won its sixth straight to improve to 6-1 overall.
The inspired 60-minute performance extended Carroll's home-field winning streak to eight games dating back to February 26, 2020 (a 21-7 nonconference victory over Beloit College in the home opener).
The Pioneers have combined to outscore their opponents by a 103-36 margin in their six victories this season.
Carroll has maintained a balanced scoring attack, recording 10 or more goals in each of its victories.
"We all knew we had something to prove today and I think my first goal really set that in motion," said Hardin, who scored the first goal of the contest on a hard-lining unassisted shot from the right side at the 26:50 mark and currently has 21 goals on the season. "There was a lot of back and forth aggressive play on every possession but we wanted it more and it showed from all of the happy tears shed after the final horn."
Trailing 11-10 in the hard-fought second half, the Pioneers rose to the pressure-packed occasion by scoring three unanswered goals over the course of the final 11 minutes to complete an emotional comeback and help ensure arguably one of the biggest victories in recent program history.
The dramatic, energized comeback began as Courtenay Karls scored on an unassisted shot to tie the game with 10:57 remaining.
On the critical, momentum-shifting play, Alyssa Scharff sprinted hard toward the goal and fired a close-proximity shot that was deflected by Illinois Wesleyan goalkeeper Janaye Godfrey.
Karls, who had gained perfect position inside, immediately fielded the deflected ball and followed with a strong, quick shot into the back corner of the net.
Following a crucial save by Rebecca McDaniel, Carroll scored what became the winning goal on its ensuing possession as the result of a free-position shot by Michaela Johnson, capitalizing on a short-handed situation with 5:17 left.
IWU appeared to score the game-tying goal with 4:55 left but the free-position shot was wiped out as the result of a crease violation.
Karls, who finished with three goals, five ground balls, three caused turnovers, two draw controls and an assist, converted on a free-position shot with 3:50 remaining to round out the scoring for the Pioneers, who outshot IWU 35-24 (maintaining a 28-19 shot-on-goal margin).
Clara Jelacic, who has a team-best 31 goals on the season, had two goals, six ground balls, three draw controls, two caused turnovers and an assist for Carroll, which was successful on 4 of 7 free-position shot opportunities. Johnson had two goals, four ground balls, two draw controls, two caused turnovers and an assist. Zoe Esveldt also contributed an assist for the Pioneers.
McDaniel was a stabilizing force, registering eight saves in playing the entire 60 minutes.
"Today was a great day for our program," said Carroll head coach Michael Hodge, of his team's inspired effort. "We have nothing but respect for Illinois Wesleyan and know that they are an amazing team.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game but had great play from so many people throughout the week to get prepared. Trina (Hardin) stepped up big for us on attack, came up with some key goals early on and our defense played outstanding today. It was a total team effort."
Bridget O' Malley and Sarah Gleason each finished with a hat trick for Illinois Wesleyan, which dropped to 6-2 overall.
Godfrey recorded 15 saves in playing the entire way for the Titans, who won 19 draw controls.
Stay up to date on Carroll women's lacrosse by going online to www.gopios.com, or by following the Pioneers on Facebook (Carroll University Athletics), Twitter (@pio_athletics), and Instagram (@pio_athletics).