CHICAGO, Ill. - Despite scoring two unanswered goals within the opening four minutes, the Carroll University women's lacrosse team struggled to maintain the momentum as it lost to Aurora University 13-8 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field on Sunday afternoon.
It was a history-making first NCAA Tournament appearance for CCIW regular-season co-champion Carroll, which ended the memorable, magical season 11-4 overall.
Aurora, 12-3 overall, avenged its nonconference road loss to the Pioneers (17-8) from March 13th and advanced to face Denison in the tournament's third round.
Carroll was outscored 11-5 in the opening half, including what became a string of nine straight goals over the course of what became a decisive 17-minute stretch.
The Pioneers were outshot by a slim 25-24 margin in the battle of high-powered, evenly-matched programs.
Michaela Johnson, a CCIW first-team all-conference selection who finished with three first-half goals, three ground balls, one assist, one draw control and a caused turnover, scored on back-to-back unassisted shots (at the 27:02 mark and 26:08 mark) to gain an early lead for the Pioneers.
Aurora responded with two goals to tie the game.
Clara Jelacic, a first-team CCIW all-conference selection who followed with a hat trick, five ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers, contributed a free-position goal to regain a 3-2 lead with 21:39 remaining in the first half.
The momentum was short lived as Aurora outscored Carroll by a 9-2 margin over the course of the next 20 minutes.
Jenna May contributed an unassisted goal and Johnson scored off an assist from Courtenay Karls to round out the first half.
Jelacic scored on an assist from Alyssa Scharff to trim the deficit to 11-6 with 26:58 remaining in the contest. 
Scharff later scored off an assist from Johnson at the 21:32 mark to cut the deficit to 11-7. Jelacic added an unassisted goal with 8:53 left but the Pioneers couldn't get any closer.
Rebecca McDaniel registered eight saves in playing the entire 60 minutes for the Pioneers. Ariana Cullam had three ground balls with Ashlyn Phaneuf adding three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
Claire Carlson scored five goals and Monique Gibson had four goals for Aurora, which converted on 5 of 7 free-position shot opportunites and maintained a 14-9 advantage in draw controls. 
Jenna Ford had eight saves for the Spartans.
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)

PIONEER FAST FACTS
What: Carroll University women's lacrosse team
Final Record: 11-4 overall (highlighted by a share of the CCIW regular-season championship, a home-field victory in the CCIW tourney semifinals and a program-first, history-making at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament)
Head Coach: Michael Hodge (CCIW Coach of the Year), seventh season
Team Members: Seniors - Alyssa Scharff, Clara Jelacic (first-team all-conference), Courtenay Karls (second-team all-conference), Colleen Corter, Michaela Johnson (first-team all-conference) and Courtney Wright; Junior - Rachel Fordham; Sophomores - Jenna May, Emily Anderson, Katrina Hardin (second-team all-conference), Lexi Kaltenberg, Alicia Van Dale, Rebecca McDaniel and Ericka Beckman; Freshmen - Mia Allen, Mina Zastrow, Janu Patel, Ariana Cullam, Megan Juergensen, Maggie Mathes, Mercer Phlegar, Ashlyn Phaneuf, Hannah Wenger, Zoe Esveldt and Aisling Finnegan