AURORA, Ill. – The Carroll University women's lacrosse team fell in the rematch of the 2021 NCAA Tournament battle with the Aurora University Spartans. Carroll fell 5-16 on a cold and windy day in northern Illinois. Katrina Hardin and Lexi Kaltenberg scored four of the team's five total goals, while Clara Jelacic collected eight ground balls, six caused turnovers, and seven draw controls on defense.
 
The Pioneers (5-3, 1-0 CCIW) only recorded 17 shots in the game, compared to 36 from the Spartans. Alicia Van Dale recorded six saves after halftime and allowed seven goals, while Rebecca McDaniel took the loss after allowing nine goals. The Pios finished 73% on clear attempts (19-26) and collected 29 total ground balls. The Pioneers faulted in draw controls, only grabbing seven of the 25 total opportunities.  
 
Aurora got on the board less than two minutes into the contest after a Pioneer turnover. Both teams played without a goal until Aurora broke the scoreless streak with four more goals in the final five minutes of the quarter. Janu Patel scored Carroll's first goal on a free-position shot with 1:21 left in the first quarter. Both teams were scoreless again until Carthage cashed in during the second quarter with their sixth goal of the game. Hardin scored Carroll's second goal with 1:44 left in the first half, but Aurora ran up the score to 2-9 with fifteen seconds left and went into halftime up seven.
 
Aurora hit the 10-goal mark five minutes into the second half, and Carroll responded six minutes later with Hardin's second goal. Kaltenberg scored two goals in less than a minute to bring the score back to 5-10 going into the fourth quarter. Aurora scored six unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to take the victory.
 
The Pioneers have another battle on the horizon, squaring off with Illinois Wesleyan next week, April 2 in Bloomington, Ill.