NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Michaela Johnson finished with an individual career-best 11 points, including five goals and six assists, as the Carroll University women's lacrosse team defeated North Central College 18-6 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Wednesday night.
It was the second straight victory and season-high single-game conference goal total for Carroll, which improved to 3-1 in the highly contested league standings and 9-2 overall.
The Pioneers outscored North Central 12-4 in the momentum-shifting first half, highlighted by six unanswered goals over the course of the opening 10 minutes.
The standout individual performance took on added significance for Johnson, who established single-game program records for total points and assists.
The tenacious 5-foot-5 senior midfielder from Mukwonago, Wis., contributed four goals and five assists in the opening half, scoring the game's first goal on an unassisted shot at the 29:06 mark to ignite the critical first-half scoring spree.
Johnson, a second-team CCIW all-conference selection in 2019 who converted on 3 of 4 free-position shot opportunities and currently has a team-leading 56 points this season, also contributed four draw controls, two caused turnovers and a ground ball with the memorable effort.
In their nine victories, the Pioneers have combined to outscore opponents by a statement-making 104-34 margin in the first half (highlighted by a program-record 17 goals in the nonconference home-opener versus Edgewood College on March 6, 2021).
Carroll, seeking its third CCIW Tournament berth, has maintained a strong, balanced scoring attack, recording 10 or more goals in each of its victories.
Clara Jelacic followed with five goals, seven draw controls, six ground balls and four caused turnovers for the Pioneers, who outshot North Central 39-14 (maintaining a 33-13 shot-on-goal margin). Katrina Hardin collected five goals and an assist.
Courtenay Karls added three goals, a team-best nine draw controls, three ground balls, two assists and a caused turnover. Alyssa Scharff also had two assists.
Rebecca McDaniel registered seven saves in playing 54 minutes for the Pioneers.
Annabelle Steiner scored two goals for North Central, which was competing in its conference opener and dropped to 1-3 overall.
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)