Chicago, Ill. - On Saturday, November 4, the No. 1 Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's soccer team hosted the No. 2 Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Raiders to Stuart Field for the 2023 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Women's Soccer Tournament Championship match. The Hawks (19-3-1, 13-0) and Raiders (19-1-3, 12-1) battled for 110 minutes of action as neither side was able to record a goal at the end of regulation, automatically sending the game into double overtime. Unfortunately the Hawks, who hosted their second straight NACC Tournament Championship match, suffered a heartbreaking loss of 1-0 to the Raiders after a goal in the 104th minute, ending their spectacular 2023 season.
After the match, the following Scarlet Hawks were named to the 2023 NACC Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team: Kelly Hitchcock, Caitie Chismarich, and Gabriella Baltes.
How It Happened
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During the first half, the Hawks led the Raiders in shots 7-4. In the 15th minute of action, the Hawks narrowly missed tallying a goal when a Lucy Jorjorian free kick ricocheted off the goalpost. The Hawks continued to hold strong as they kept pressure offensively, trying to find a breakthrough. Neither side was able to find the back of the net during the first 45 minutes, sending the teams into halftime tied at 0-0.
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The Hawks came out ready in the second half, immediately applying pressure with a shot by Allison Murray just 30 seconds into the half. Murray's shot, which seemed to be dipping perfectly, went just over the crossbar and out of bounds, resulting in a Raiders goal kick. Throughout the second 45 minutes of action, the Hawks picked up the offensive pressure, recording 14 shots throughout the half, while shutting down multiple Raider opportunities and allowing the visitors just four shots. One of the Hawks best opportunities came in the 59th minute off the head of Gabriella Baltes. After the Hawks earned a corner kick, Jorjorian sent a high lofting ball to the center of the 6-yard box. Baltes was able to jump above her defender and redirect the ball towards the left post. The header shot bounced off the post and went back into the field where a Raider defender was able to clear the ball. The Raiders best opportunity of the half came in the 73rd minute as they were awarded a penalty kick. Stepping up to take the kick for the Raiders was Emma Halverson. Halverson placed her shot into the lower right corner, but the Hawks goalkeeper Hailey Flannagan was perfectly able to guess the position of the shot, making a diving save to keep the score even at 0. For the remainder of the half, the Hawks out shot the Raiders 5-2, but neither side was able to find the back of the net.
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With a 0-0 score at the end of regulation, the game headed into double overtime for some free soccer. For the first 10 minute overtime period, both sides recorded two shots a piece. Then, in the final 10 minute overtime period, the lone goal of the match would come. In the 104th minute of action, the Raiders Maggie Thillman was able to capitalize on a loose ball in the Hawks defensive half. Thillman's lone goal late in the game was the deciding factor and the Hawks ultimately fell to the Raiders 1-0 in the NACC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship match.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Raider Standouts
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Maggie Thillman - 106 minutes, 1 goal, 2 shots, 1 shot on goal
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Emma Halverson - 110 minutes, 3 shots, 3 shots on goal
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Reagan Tompkins - 65 minutes, 3 saves, combined shutout
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Megan Lacina - 45 minutes, 3 saves, combined shutout
Inside the Box Score
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Illinois Tech led MSOE in shots and shots on goal, with 25 and 6 respectively versus the Raiders 11 and 4
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The Raiders recorded 6 saves throughout the 110 minutes of action while the Hawks recorded 3
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In corner kicks, the Hawks tallied 9 while the Raiders had 6
2023 Recap
With the loss, the Scarlet Hawks sit with a 19-3-1 overall record and a 13-0 NACC record.
For the 2023 season, the Hawks recorded the following stats: 87 goals, 3.78 goals per game, only 14 goals allowed, 570 shots, 24.8 shots per game, 280 shots on goal, 68 assists, 50 saves, 179 corner kicks, and scored on all 5 of their penalty kick attempts.
Caitie Chismarich has led the Hawks throughout the season with 12 goals and 9 assists for 33 total points. 3 of Chismarich's goals were considered game winners. Kaitlyn Walsh follows in goals with 10 throughout the season, with 2 game winners. Lucy Jorjorian followed in assists with 6.
Time in goal for the Hawks has been split between Hailey Flannagan and Sarah Thomas. Flannagan tallied 1393:55 minutes with 18 starts out of 22 games played. Flannagan recorded 36 saves and has a 15-3-1 record. Thomas played 969:05 minutes with 5 starts in 16 matches. Thomas has picked up 14 saves with a 4-0-0 record.
Congratulations to the Hawks nine seniors for your careers as Scarlet Hawks: Katharina Haerle, Jayla Anaya, Kelly Hitchcock, Julianna Moore, Caitie Chismarich, Jillian Oligschlaeger, Carolyn Beltran, Abigail Dudek, and Hailey Flannagan.
