by Eric Willuweit

Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech women's lacrosse team took home field for the first time in the 2023 season Wednesday night at Stuart Field, and at the end of the evening the visiting Augustana College Vikings defeated the Scarlet Hawks 14-10 in a non-conference matchup. The Scarlet Hawks fell to 0-2 on the season. Augustana started their season 1-0.

Much like they did in their first match against Adrian, the Scarlet Hawks fell behind 5-0 after one quarter of play. However, unlike the Adrian match, the Hawks stormed back to make a game of it before the Vikings pulled away in the second half. The Scarlet Hawks had three players tally hat tricks in the match, along with a player's first career collegiate goal.

First Quarter (Augustana 5 - Illinois Tech 0)

Neither team could find the back of the net in the first five minutes of the opening quarter, despite three shots from Illinois Tech and two shots from Augustana. The Vikings were able to get on the board first at the 9:49 mark on an unassisted goal by Kyla Painter. The teams would again go scoreless over the next 4:30 before Cassidy Petrie tallied the first of her four goals at the 5:17 mark. The Vikings would add three more goals in the final 2:38 of the quarter to lead 5-0 heading to the second quarter.

Second Quarter (Illinois Tech 5 - Augustana 1)

Petrie opened the scoring for Augustana 1:33 in the second quarter to give the Vikings a 6-0 lead. However, the game would change dramatically in the second quarter, as the Scarlet Hawks tallied five unanswered goals to cut their deficit to 6-5 at halftime. Lucy Jorjorian scored her first career collegiate goal to open the Illinois Tech scoring. Kelly Hitchcock added a pair of goals, and Allison Yurchak and Faith Busche each had solo tallies in the quarter.

Third Quarter (Augustana 4 - Illinois Tech 2)

Busche added another goal 1:12 into the third quarter to draw the Scarlet Hawks even at 6-6. The tie was short-lived however, as Petrie scored for the Vikings with a player up to allow Augustana to retake the lead, 7-6. Augustana would score three more times in the quarter, sandwiched around Busche's third goal of the match, to give Augustana a 10-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter (Augustana 4 - Illinois Tech 3)

Augustana added two more goals in the first 2:32 of the fourth quarter to take a 12-7 lead. The teams would go scoreless over the next several mibnutes before Claire Kim scored her second goal of the match at the 4:59 mark to extend the Augustana's lead to 13-7. Yurchak would score her second of the match at 2:40 to cut the gap to 13-8, but Elena Bechard answered for the Vikings just 30 seconds later to give Augustana a 14-8 lead. Hitchcock and Yurchak would close out the scoring for Illinois Tech with their third goals of the match in the closing minutes, but it was not enough to overcome the Vikings.

Scarlet Hawks Standouts

• Hitchcock had 3 goals, her second consecutive game with a hat trick. She also had 1 assist, 12 draw controls and 4 caused turnovers.
• Busche had 3 goals and 1 assist, with three draw controls.
• Yurchak netted 3 goals on 4 shots.

Vikings Watch

• Petrie led the Vikings with 4 goals and shots with 13.
• Kim and Madison Langewisch each had 3 goals; Langewisch had 6 draw controls.

Inside The Box Score

• The Vikings outshot the Scarlet Hawks 38-32.
• Illinois Tech had an 18-9 advantage in draw controls.
• Ground balls favored Illinois Tech 8-4.
• Illinois Tech committed 21 fouls to 17 for Augustana.

Up Next

The Scarlet Hawks are back on Stuart Field this Saturday, when they host Kalamazoo College at 12:00 PM in a non-conference matchup.