CHICAGO – The University of Chicago women's lacrosse team jumped out to a quick lead in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Semifinals and held sway throughout Wednesday evening to defeat Carthage College 18-6.

The No. 1-seed Maroons (8-1 record) advance to the CCIW Championship game, which they will host on Saturday night versus No. 2-seed Carroll University (11-2).

It was a soggy start to the night thanks to torrential downpours in the area. Fortunately the weather cleared by the opening draw on the Stagg Field turf. UChicago wasted no time in bounding ahead, winning the draw control and scoring 37 seconds in the game. Junior Ali Sheehy – who was named CCIW Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday morning – was responsible for the opening salvo off an assist by junior Sarah Bloomquist.

Three minutes later, the Maroons were up 4-0 with two goals by sophomore Katie Large and one from first-year Lulu Hardy. Carthage got one back on the ensuing possession, but the Maroons responded with four-straight scores to draw ahead 8-1 after 20 minutes.

The Firebirds began to find their footing in the latter half of the period, using their speed to get past defenders for looks at goal or drawing fouls from the help side. The visitors recorded three of the next four tallies to draw within 9-4.

Just when it looked like UChicago had lost all its momentum, Hardy took over and scored twice in the final 40 seconds of the half. She drew a foul with 1.8 seconds left on the clock and ripped a free-position shot into the back of the net as the horn sounded to give her team an 11-4 advantage.

The hosts were their typical aggressive selves with swarming the midfield pressure throughout the game. Carthage only converted 6 of 15 clear attempts in the first half to go along with 19 turnovers.

The second half played evenly for the first 15 minutes, as a litany of foul calls were whistled. A free-position goal by Sheehy with 14:42 remaining shook the Maroons out of their doldrums and the home side owned the rest of the game. The next four goals came from four different players, finalizing an 18-6 victory.

UChicago ended up with nine different scorers, led by Hardy's four goals and four ground balls. Large posted three goals, one assist, three ground balls and two draw controls. Sheehy, junior Lally Johnson and sophomore Zoe Torok all had two goals each. Bloomquist and Sheehy contributed two assists apiece.

Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Feigen (7-1 record) got the win, making five saves in her 51 minutes of action. Fellow sophomore Kat Berritto closed out the remaining 8:38 with one save.

The final box score saw UChicago win the shots (32-17), ground balls (26-17) and draw controls (13-12) categories. Carthage committed 28 turnovers versus 21 by the home side. The Firebirds went 15-for-24 on clears (62 percent) while the Maroons were 19-for-22 (86 percent).

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, May 1 @ 6:00 PM – Carroll University at UChicago