CHICAGO – The University of Chicago women's lacrosse team controlled all aspects of Sunday's game en route to a 20-0 shutout victory over Augustana College. In the process, the Maroons (7-1 record) secured their status as 2021 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Co-Champions.

The CCIW's final standings featured UChicago, Illinois Wesleyan University and Carroll University tied at 4-1 in league play, resulting in co-champion status for all three. The Maroons earned the No. 1 seed for the upcoming CCIW Tournament due to tiebreaker criteria. The winner of the tourney will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason.

Sunday's game featured a sunny but blustery cold afternoon on the Stagg Field turf. UChicago scored two minutes into the game and never looked back. By halftime, the Maroons held a commanding 14-0 lead, which featured three goals in 55 seconds midway through the first half.

UChicago's midfield dominance was the key factor in limiting any quality looks by Augustana. The aggressive press defense all across the field forced errant passes that were snatched off the turf and immediately taken the other way. The Maroons hoovered up almost every ground ball they came upon, finishing with an impressive 34-10 advantage in that category by game's end.

With the midfield putting the offense into good transition opportunities, the hosts were aggressively looking to score, firing off 31 shots in the first half alone. The Maroons ended up with a school record 47 shot attempts – the previous program best was 46 versus North Central College in 2019.

UChicago ended up taking their time in the second half, running the clock down on every possession. The attack provided six more scores to give the Maroons an even 20.

Defensively, the home side only allowed four shots total. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Feigen (6-1 record) saved both shots she faced in the first half. Sophomore Kat Berritto finished off the second half in net to clinch the program's first-ever shutout.

The CCIW conference title is also UChicago's first – the program made its varsity debut in 2019.

Draw controls were firmly in UChicago's favor at 15-6. Augustana tallied 29 turnovers compared to 10 by the hosts. The clears category was similarly one-sided – the Vikings converted 9 of 26 (35 percent) while the Maroons were 14-for-15 (93 percent).

First-year Lulu Hardy paced the offense with four goals on the afternoon. Sophomore Katie Large contributed an all-around stat line of three goals, one assist, two ground balls and six draw controls. Sophomore Becky Van Kirk, first-year Lizzie Huesman, junior Abbey Pouba and sophomore Anneke Pulkkinen posted two goals each. Huesman added five draw controls and two caused turnovers. Juniors Lally Johnson and Ali Sheehy dished out two assists apiece.

NEXT GAME:

• Wednesday, April 28 @ 6:00 PM – Carthage College at UChicago