By Jami Sponaugle

Chicago, Ill. - In their third game of the 2023 season, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's lacrosse team welcomed the Kalamazoo College Hornets to Stuart Field for a non-conference game. 

The Hornets (2-1) came out hot against the Hawks (0-3), taking a quick 3-0 lead. In the second quarter, the Hawks fought back to make it a 4-goal game at halftime, but the Hornets took control of the game offensively during the second half of play. At the end of the game, the Hawks fell to the visiting Hornets 22–8.

First Quarter (Kalamazoo 7 - Illinois Tech 3)

• Between 14:32 and 12:46 the Hornets found the back of the net three times to take the early lead over the Hawks. Jordan Doyle scored first off a Abbie Caza assist. Caza then scored an unassisted goal. Immediately after, Caza scored again for the Hornets third goal, this time off a Maya Richardson assist. 

• Judai Smith put the Hawks on the board at the 12:01 mark. Faith Busche assisted the goal after beating two of her defenders to give space to run into. Busche then passed the ball off to Smith, who jumped in the air to catch it, turned towards the net, and immediately shot it past the Hornerts goalkeeper to make it a 3-1 game. 

• Smith then followed with another goal at 10:54, this time unassisted. After receiving the ball, Smith was able to get around her defender just enough to pull off a shot, beating the goalkeeper and making it a 1-goal game. 

• The Hornets immediately answered with another trio of goals between 10:03 and 7:13. 

• Smith secured a hat-trick with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter, this time the goal was assisted by Kelly Hitchcock. Hitchcock was able to find Smith making a run right in front of the goal, sending the ball in her direction and allowing her to turn and rip off a shot. Here, the Hawks trailed the Hornets 6-3.

• With 3:44 remaining in the quarter, the Hornets picked up one more goal, this time from Ella Spooner. At the end of the first quarter, the Hornets led the Hawk 7-3

Second Quarter (Kalamazoo 3 - Illinois Tech 3)

• The Hornets built on their lead to begin the second quarter with a goal by Caza, assisted by Spooner. 

• Hitchcock recorded her second of the game with 11:26 on the clock. After winning the draw control ball, Hitchcock was able to run into open space straight toward the goal. She was able to juke out the only defender in her way before firing off a shot, beating the goalkeeper. Here the Hawks trailed 8-4.

• Kalamazoo added their ninth of the game with 8:41 remaining in the quarter. 

• Then, at 6:57, Lucy Jorjorian scored for the Hawks. Jorjorian was able to make a run straight to the goal and beat the Kalamazoo goalkeeper to get her first of the game, and the Hawks 5th goal. 

• Hitchcock then scored her second of the game with 5:47 remaining. After a free position shot attempt missed, Hitchcock ended up with the ball right in front of the goal and found the back of the net. 

• The Hornets closed out the half with a goal by Jordan Doyle with 32 seconds remaining to take a 10-6 lead at halftime. 

Third Quarter (Kalamazoo 8 - Illinois Tech 1)

• Coming out of halftime, the Hornets went on a 5-goal scoring streak to take a 15-6 lead with 7:38 on the clock.

• Hitchcock's third goal of the game, earning her a hat-trick, came at the 6:59 mark in the third quarter. With 5 Hornets closing in on her, Hitchcock was able to pull off a shot to find the back of the net for the Hawks only goal in the quarter. 

• Kalamazoo added three more goals to close out the third quarter with a 18-7 lead. 

Fourth Quarter (Kalamazoo 4 - Illinois Tech 1)

• Similar to the other quarter, the Hornets found the back of the net at the 13:24 mark to begin the fourth quarter. 

• Busche scored with 10:05 remaining in the game to get on the board for the Hawks. After missing the initial free position shot opportunity, Busche was able to recover and score to give the Hawks their final goal of the game. 

• The Hornets closed out the game with three goals to ultimately take a 22-8 victory over the Hawks. 

 Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Smith tallied a hat-trick in the first quarter of action. Smith finished the game with 4 shots, all of which were on frame. 

• Hitchcock also picked up a hat-trick throughout the game. Hitchcock finished with 14 shots, 8 on goal, as well as 1 assist, 7 ground balls, 6 draw controls, and 4 caused turnovers. 

Hornets Standouts

• Caza proved to be the Hornets goal scorer in today's game, finding the back of the net 8 times off 11 shots. 

• Spooner followed with 4 goals off 7 shots. Spooner provided 3 assists. 

Inside the Box Score

• Kalamazoo edged Illinois Tech on ground balls 19-18. 

• The Hawks were 8–for-8 in clears, while the Hornets were 9-for-10.

• The Hornerts held a 18-to-8 advantage in draw controls over the Hawks. 

• 38 shots were in favor of the Hornets while 29 were in favor of the Hawks. 

Head Coach Kirk Lamitie Comments

"[This was the] most consistent game we've played. [We] ran out of gas in the second half, but we held our composure for the full 60 minutes. I am proud of my athletes and am excited to get back to work to prepare for our spring break trip. We also had a great fan base today, love the energy they brought to Stuart Field."
Up Next

The Hawks will now hit the road for a 7-game away streak, 5 of which will be non-conference matches. Their first stop will be in Conway, AR, where they will take on the Hendrix College Warriors at 6:00p.m.