KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Illinois Wesleyan women's lacrosse team earned their first ever victory over Carthage College on April 19, defeating the Lady Reds by a final score of 14-5. IWU has now won six of their last seven contests heading into their final three regular season games of the season. Sophomore Grainne Kelly led the charge with six goals which is tied for her season and career-high.

With a win the Titans improved to 9-5 on the season with a 2-1 record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Carthage fell to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the CCIW with a loss.

After Kelly scored the opening goal of the evening the score was briefly tied a one-apiece early-on in the first half. The early tie was as close as Carthage would get for the remainder of the contest as the Titans scored five unanswered goals to close out the first. Kelly scored two of her six goals in the first and senior Maggie Krause added three first half goals. Krause finished the day with three goals and two assists.

Kelly continued her strong play to open the second half, scoring two straight goals to give IWU an 8-1 lead. The Titans took their largest lead of the game at the 19:02 mark in the second when sophomore Sara Dust and Kelly scored within 30 seconds of one another to take a 10-2 lead. Dust finished the day with two goals and one assist.

Also scoring for IWU were junior Abby Kushina (1), and sophomores Dani Engelbreit (1) and Sam Bidlack (1). Bidlack also tallied two assists in the contest to bring her season total to 24. Kelly's six goals pushed her season total to 47 which extends her record for most goals in a single-season. Engelbreit led the team with eight ground balls, six caused turnovers and six draw controls won.

In goal, junior Claire Quist made six saves on 16 shots faced to increase her season save total to 111. Quist is currently on pace to allow the fewest goals of her career.

IWU held a 25-11 shots on goal advantage over Carthage. The Titan defense was sturdy forcing 26 Lady Red turnovers and causing eight failed clearances.

Kendell Santin led the Lady Reds with two goals. Carthage's Maggie Allen made a game-high 11 saves on 32 shots faced. Maddie Griffin led the team in ground balls with four.

What's Next?
IWU is back in action on Saturday, April 22 where they will hit the road to take on North Central College at 1:00 p.m. The Cardinals currently hold an overall record of 9-5 with a 2-1 record in the CCIW following a 12-8 loss at Augustana College on Wednesday.