ST. PAUL, Minn. – University of Northwestern Women's Lacrosse hosted Augsburg University on Wednesday night for their penultimate conference contest of the season. The Eagles soared to a 19-6 win over the Auggies to improve to 5-1 in the MWLC.
UNW is now tied with Lake Forest for second place in the
conference standings with one game remaining in the regular season. The Eagles and Foresters are set to faceoff in the regular season finale on Saturday at Lake Forest, with the winner clinching the #2 seed in the MWLC Tournament and earning the right to host a semifinal game next Wednesday, May 3.
Against the Auggies, the Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. 10-seconds after the third UNW goal, the Auggies stormed down to the field to score their first of the night.
By the end of the opening frame, Northwestern led 6-3. Once the second quarter started, the Eagles took control; scoring five consecutive goals to go to halftime up 11-3 and then six more goals in the third to take a 17-3 lead into the final frame.
The Eagles scored twice more in the fourth quarter to go up 19-3. Northwestern's 13-goal scoring streak ended when Augsburg scored with 5:07 remaining. The Auggies went on to score twice more, but UNW took the 19-6 conference win.
Maddie Hauer (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) led the Eagles attack with a double hat trick, scoring a single-game career high six goals. The sophomore also had an assist for a seven-point game and added four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) scored four goals in the win.
Ava Whitcomb (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) and
Lauren Paar (Centerville, Minn./Centennial) each scored hat tricks for the Eagles.
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown),
Samantha Wiebold (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) and
Emma Ruegemer (Cold Spring, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) each had goals as well in the win.
Maren Reu (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) and
Reegan Duininck (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) led the Eagles defense with five caused turnovers each. Reu also had a game-high eight ground balls.
Wiebold led all players with 12 draw controls in the win.
In goal,
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) earned her ninth win this season with three saves.
Up next, Northwestern will travel to Lake Forest for their pivotal regular season finale on Saturday at 11:00pm at Farwell Field.
