Women's Lacrosse offense sputters in loss at Illinois Wesleyan

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Concordia Wisconsin's offense looked to be in prime form during the first nine minutes of the game, building a 4-1 lead, but things slowed down from then on. Illinois Wesleyan, on the other hand, scored seven-consecutive goals to take control and eventually win 9-6 on Wednesday evening at Tucci Stadium.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Illinois Wesleyan 9, Concordia Wisconsin 6
Location: Tucci Stadium (Bloomington, Ill.)
Records: Illinois Wesleyan 4-4, Concordia Wisconsin 3-4

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Just days after the Falcons piled on 17 goals in back-to-back games, they could only accumulate six against a tough non-conference opponent. Caitlin Henry scored 81 seconds into the game before Allison Kurek added a goal. Lauren Paquin scored twice with 41 seconds of each other and Concordia Wisconsin had a quick 4-1 lead less than nine minutes into the contest.
- Illinois Wesleyan buckled down and went to work, scoring seven-consecutive goals over the final 15:39 of the first half and six minutes into the second period to turn a deficit into an 8-4 advantage.
- Kurek and Paquin each scored again down the stretch, but the Titans defense was too much to overcome.
- Concordia Wisconsin converted just 14-of-24 clears and turned the ball over 29 times, of which 15 were caused by Illinois Wesleyan.
- Paquin (sophomore, Waukesha, Wis.) ended with a hat trick, while Kurek (junior, Chicago, Ill.) had two goals and two assists. Henry (junior, Lansing, Ill.) recorded a goal and assist, and sophomore Christian Pattengale (Portage, Mich.) had a helper.
- Kurek also had five ground balls, three draw controls and five caused turnovers.
- Senior Veronika Metanova (Palatine, Ill.) made 13 saves in goal.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Metanova has made double-digit saves in five of the seven games this season.
- Kurek's five caused turnovers are tied for the seventh most in a game in program history.
- The Falcons' three victories this season have all come at home, while their four losses have all been on the road.

THE OPPOSITION
- Sara Dust, Maggie Krause and Claudia Richman all had two goals. Krause assisted on a trio of scores.
- Sam Bidlack finished with a goal and two assists.
- Grainne Kelley led the defensive efforts with tree caused turnovers and five ground balls.
- Claire Quist recorded five saves in between the pipes to earn the win.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin hits the road for back-to-back MWLC games this weekend. The Falcons first travel to Cornell for a Saturday at 10 am before going to Monmouth for a Sunday 1 pm matchup.