WAUKESHA, Wis. – Carroll University women's soccer battled hard but fell 1–0 to Illinois Wesleyan in a CCIW matchup Saturday evening at Schneider Stadium. The Pioneers dropped to 5-6-5 overall and 2-5-1 in conference play.

The match was tightly contested from start to finish, with both teams creating chances but defenses holding firm. After a scoreless first half, Illinois Wesleyan broke through in the 51st minute when Keira Robinson scored for the Titans. Carroll pushed for an equalizer late, generating four corner kicks and seven total shots, but couldn't find the back of the net.

Carmella Nowak led the Pioneers with three shots, including two on target, while Ellie Patrickus and Addie Decker each added quality chances. Goalkeeper Ava Lewandowski made two saves to keep Carroll within striking distance, and the back line anchored by Victoria Crivello and Alexa Karagiannis limited Illinois Wesleyan to nine shots overall.

Illinois Wesleyan's defense and goalkeeper Vanessa Gray (four saves) proved tough to crack, especially during Carroll's late surge that included a corner in the 82nd minute and a shot just wide in the 89th.

This was a physical contest with nine fouls by Carroll and six by IWU, and both teams received yellow cards in the first half. Despite the loss, Carroll showed resilience, although they failed to convert. 

At this time, it does not look like the Pioneers will be making the CCIW conference tournament with the current tiebreaker situation with Elmhurst and Wesleyan now holding tiebreakers. With this being a young roster, the Pioneers will look to regroup on a year filled with lots of highs that they will look to reign in and use to propel them higher up in the standings as they look to next season.