by Eric Willuweit

Adrian, Mich. - The Illinois Tech women's lacrosse team, in the process of rebuilding their program, opened their 2023 season with a road loss at Adrian College 19-4 Friday afternoon in Michigan.

The Scarlet Hawks, who lost their top two scorers after last season, have several new players they are incorporating into the roster as they look to build their next competitive team. Overall, Head Coach Kirk Lamitie was happy with what he saw from his team for game one, despite the score.

"This season's focus is on building a foundation for success. Today was the first step to the creation of a program with the right culture and proper dedication to the team from our student athletes" said Lamitie. "I am proud of my athletes for staying the course and supporting each other through adversity. While the numbers on the score board may not be what we want, we won the mental battle with the cohesive teamwork and positive attitudes, which we carried for the full 60 minutes" concluded Lamitie.

First Quarter (Adrian 5 - Illinois Tech 0)

Adrian wasted no time asserting themselves in the game, scoring 3 goals in just over two minutes of play to take a 3-0 lead. The Scarlet Hawks were able to keep the Bulldogs off the board over the next nine minutes before Adrian closed out the first quarter with two goals 90 seconds apart to claim a 5-0 lead.

Second Quarter (Adrian 4 - Illinois Tech 2)

Adrian extended their lead to 8-0 with three goals in the first nine minutes of the second quarter.  The Scarlet Hawks finally got on the board at the 3:25 mark when Kelly Hitchcock netted her first career goal to cut the Hawks deficit to 8-1. Hitchcock would go on to score another goal with just over two minutes to play in the quarter, as the Hawks had a more competitive showing in the second frame, but still trailed 9-2 heading into the break.

Third Quarter (Adrian 8 - Illinois Tech 2)

Adrian overpowered the Scarlet Hawks in the third quarter, scoring six goals in just over seven minutes of play, en route to an 8-2 scoring advantage in the third period. The bright spots for the Scarlet Hawks in the third quarter was Hitchcock tallying her third goal of the match 45 seconds into the third quarter, and first-year player Judai Smith scoring her first career goal on a free position shot at the 5:33 mark, closing out the scoring for the Hawks on this day.

Fourth Quarter (Adrian 2 - Illinois Tech 0)

The Scarlet Hawks had their best defensive quarter in the final period, holding the Bulldogs to just two goals and two shots in quarter, while tallying six shots of their own. Unfortunatley for the Hawks none of those shots were able to find the back of the net, as Adrian closed out the Scarlet Hawks 19-4.

Scarlet Hawks Standouts

• Hitchcock, the third-year soccer player making her collegiate lacrosse debut, tallied a hat trick on 6 shots on goal, claiming 7 ground balls, winning 3 draw controls while causing 8 turnovers.
• Smith had a goal on six shots, winning two draw controls and causing two turnovers.
• Faith Busche had two assists and recovered 3 ground balls.

Bulldogs Watch

• Melina Springer led Adrian with 6 goals on 9 shots, winning 11 draw controls and causing 5 turnovers. She also recovered 3 ground balls.
• Sophie Mondro tallied 4 goals while assisting on 2 goals.

Inside The Box Score

• The Bulldogs outshot the Scarlet Hawks 30-14.
• Adrian had a 20-6 advantage in draw controls.
• Ground balls were relatively even, with the Scarlet Hawks recovering 19 while Adrian pulled in 23.
• Illinois Tech committed 10 fouls to 6 for Adrian.

Up Next

The Scarlet Hawks return home next week with a pair of non-conference matches at Stuart Field, starting on Wednesday, March 1st when they host Augustana at 4pm.