LAKE FOREST, Ill. – University of Northwestern Women's Lacrosse traveled to Lake Forest College for their regular season finale on Saturday morning. The Eagles fell 9-7 to the Foresters, locking in UNW as the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MWLC Tournament.
Lake Forest scored the first goal of the game just over five minutes into the opening quarter.
Samantha Wiebold (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) then tied it up for Northwestern two minutes later, scoring with an assist by
Chloe Solorzano (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park). The Foresters scored thrice more in the first frame, but UNW had the final word as
Ava Whitcomb (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) scored in literally the final second of the quarter.
Trailing 4-2 after the first quarter, the Eagles cut their deficit in half early in the second quarter as
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) scored just four minutes into the frame, assisted by
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown). The Foresters would score in the final five minutes of the first half, sending the game to halftime with Lake Forest leading 5-3 over Northwestern.
In the third quarter, the Foresters scored back-to-back goals to go up 7-3. UNW responded with back-to-back goals of their own. Whitecomb scored her second goal of the game, with
Lauren Paar (Centerville, Minn./Centennial) assisting, and
Maddie Hauer (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) followed with an unassisted goal to bring Northwestern back within two, trailing 7-5. The Foresters scored once more in the frame to take an 8-5 lead into the final quarter.
Wiebold scored her second goal of the game early in the fourth quarter with Thompson assisting. The Foresters went on to score once more in the game to go up 9-6. Wiebold completed a hat trick in the final minute of the game, scoring her third goal of the day in an unassisted effort.
The Eagles were outshot 37-15 in the game.
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) put up a valiant performance in goal for UNW, saving 19 shots on goal.
Up next, Northwestern will travel back to Lake Forest for the MWLC Semifinals on Wednesday, May 3 at Farwell Field.
