ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Coming off of an impressive, come-from-behind road win earlier in the week, the University of Northwestern Women's Lacrosse team entered Saturday's game at Augustana College looking to build on that momentum. Mission accomplished. Northwestern out-scored Augustana in each of the first three quarters and built a double-digit lead that ultimately led to a 19-9 win.
Abby Scheel (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), typically UNW's most dynamic distributor, decided to steal some shine for herself as she scored the game's first goal just 1:19 in.
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) scored just over a minute later off a
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) assist, then Scheel found
Lauren Paar (Centerville, Minn./Centennial) for a goal less than a minute after that to give the Eagles a quick, 3-0 lead. Thompson tallied goal number two at the 10:46 mark off a pass from
Emma Ruegemer (Cold Spring, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins), then Scheel called her own number with 9:11 left in the opening quarter to make the lead 5-0. The Vikings responded with a pair of goals to trim the deficit to three, but Thompson returned the favor from earlier to Smith, finding the senior for a man-up goal with 41 seconds remaining to give UNW a 6-2 edge after one quarter.
Northwestern picked up right where it left off as the second quarter began. Paar scored an early goal, but Augustana countered with one of its own 90 seconds later.
Emma Snyder (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) scored back-to-back, unassisted goals just over a minute apart from one another to stretch the lead to 9-3, but the Vikings cut it to five soon after.
Maddie Hauer (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) got on the board with her first goal of the match at the 7:15 mark, but the hosts answered back with 5:41 left to get within five at 10-5, which would be the halftime score.
With 30 minutes remaining, the Vikings were still within striking distance. Not for long. Scheel finished off her hat trick just 29 seconds into the second half to make it 10-6, then Paar matched her with 11:59 on the clock. Just 18 seconds later, Scheel found Smith for a goal to extend the lead to 13-5. Ruegemer scored off an assist by
Annika Dykstra (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) at the 10-minute mark, then Hauer tallied her second of the day 25 seconds later. Thompson's hat trick (assisted by Snyder) made it 16-5 with 6:35 left in the third and capped off a 6-0 UNW run. The Vikings finally stopped the bleeding with a goal with 4:45 remaining, but Snyder scored her third just before time expired to make it 17-7, Northwestern after three complete.
Augustana ended a scoreless fourth period with a goal with 8:42 left, but Northwestern put to bed any thoughts of a comeback when
Lily Crosby (Cavalier, N.D./Cavalier Public School) caged one off an assist from Scheel. Smith completed her hat trick with 4:42 left, finding the back of the net off a pass from Thompson. With that goal, five Eagles had racked up hat tricks in Rock Island. The Vikings tacked on two goals before the clock hit triple zeros to make the final score 19-9 in favor of Northwestern. With its second road win of the week, UNW improved to 4-4 in 2024.
In a game full of stat sheet stuffers, Scheel put up the biggest numbers of all. In addition to her three goals, the junior also dished out three assists and collected four ground balls. Thompson nearly matched her teammate, finishing with three goals, two assists and three ground balls. Smith was allover the place as well, contributing three goals, one assist, four ground balls, four draw controls and two caused turnovers. Snyder scored three times, tallied one assist, snagged three ground balls, caused two turnovers and won two draw controls. Paar was the final member of the hat trick brigade and also added six draw controls. Hauer had a nice day herself, scoring twice and winning four draw controls. Ruegemer tallied one goal, one assist and three ground balls while Crosby closed out the scoring with a goal as well.
Maren Reu (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) was strong on the defensive end with four ground balls, while
Reegan Duininck (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) led the way with three caused turnovers. Dykstra finished with two ground balls and an assist while
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) got the win in cage, making eight saves.
Northwestern will have a short turnaround before returning home for a Tuesday showdown with UW-La Crosse (weather permitting). The draw is scheduled for 7:00 PM from Reynolds Field. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for more updates.
