KENOSHA, Wis. – Big contributions from first-year and sophomore players paced the University of Chicago women's lacrosse team in its 17-8 road win at Carthage College on Wednesday evening.

The No. 20-ranked Maroons improved to 13-1 overall and 4-0 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). The Firebirds fell to 12-2 on the season and 2-1 in CCIW contests.

UChicago drew ahead 3-0 early, with first-year Olivia Escoffery contributing the first two goals only 26 seconds apart. Carthage rallied back to tie the score at 3-3, but sophomore Lulu Hardy and first-year Jane Chen recorded one goal and one assist each in the final two minutes of the first quarter.

The Maroons found their footing in the second quarter and pulled away with five unanswered goals to go up 10-4 at halftime. Escoffery found the back of the net twice more, and UChicago tallied a pair of shorthanded goals as well.

The third quarter saw the visitors post four goals in the final six minutes. Sophomore Camille Kuwana converted back-to-back free-position shots in that time.

With a comfortable 15-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, UChicago's final two goals came from Escoffery and Kuwana. It marked the ninth game this season that the Maroons have scored at least 17 goals.

Escoffery submitted a season-high six goals on seven shots, which included four free-position goals. She also scooped up three ground balls. Chen scored twice and handed out three assists to go with her three ground balls. Kuwana snagged a hat trick and three ground balls. Senior Ali Sheehy contributed three goals of her own. Junior Zoe Torok produced a game-high six ground balls along with two caused turnovers, one goal and one assist. Sophomore Lizzie Huesman collected nine draw controls.

In goal, first-year Rachel Keefe (13-1 record) made six saves with eight goals allowed.

Statistically, UChicago came out ahead in most major categories, including shots (39-30), draw controls (17-12) and ground balls (36-27). The Maroons converted clears at a higher rate (15-17 compared to 15-22). They also scored seven free position goals on 15 attempts, while Carthage went 0-for-5 in those scenarios. The Firebirds also committed more turnovers (22-16).

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, April 23 @ 1:00 PM – Illinois Wesleyan University at UChicago