GRANVILLE, Ohio — Carthage earned the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history on Saturday afternoon, defeating Transylvania 14-7 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium.
The Firebirds, making their first appearance in the national tournament, improved to 16-3 with the victory. Transylvania closed its season at 10-8.
Transylvania scored the first goal of the contest at the 12:50 mark of the opening quarter, but Carthage responded less than two minutes later on a goal from Kyleigh Higgins. After the Pioneers moved back in front 2-1, the Firebirds scored four consecutive goals to take control.
Auggie Claridge tied the game at 2-2 with 5:08 left in the first quarter before Higgins converted a free-position attempt to give Carthage its first lead. Kelsey O’Brien followed with a goal off an assist from Claridge, and Rosie Nolan scored with 1:41 remaining in the period to give the Firebirds a 5-2 advantage.
Carthage continued its run early in the second quarter. Hannah Kim scored on a free-position opportunity, Higgins added another goal, and Claridge scored through traffic to extend the lead to 8-2. Transylvania answered with three straight goals before halftime, trimming the margin to 8-5.
The Firebirds reestablished control in the third quarter. Claridge scored less than a minute into the half, then added a free-position goal to push the lead to 10-5. Higgins followed with another goal, then assisted O’Brien on a score that made it 12-5. Claridge added an unassisted goal 40 seconds later to give Carthage a 13-5 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Claridge scored once more in the final period, giving the Firebirds a nine-goal advantage. Transylvania scored twice late, but Carthage closed out the 14-7 win to advance in the national tournament.
Claridge led Carthage with six goals and seven points. Higgins finished with three goals and two assists, while O’Brien added two goals and one assist. Kim recorded three caused turnovers, and Xochitl Delvale-Vera made seven saves in goal for the Firebirds.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).