Chicago, Ill. - In their 2024 season opener, as well as their home opener, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's lacrosse team welcomed the Hendrix College Warriors to Stuart Field. The non-conference match-up saw the Hawks (1-0) score early and often over the Warriors (2-2). After four plus goal performances from three Hawks, the women's lacrosse team secured a 18-11 victory to begin their season campaign. 

First Quarter (Illinois Tech 6 - Hendrix 2)

• Scoring the first goal of the game and of the season for the Hawks was Faith Busche at the 13:41 mark. Busche scored after finding space in front of the goal and firing off a shot past the Warriors goalkeeper. 

• At 9:25, the Warriors scored their first goal of the game with a goal by Alaina Palmer. 

• Hendrix then went up 2-1 at 7:16 with a goal by Peyton Refling. This goal marked the Warriors only lead of the game. 

• The Hawks quickly responded to the Warriors goal with a goal of their own at 6:51 in a man-up situation. After receiving the ball at the top of the arc, Kelly Hitchcock created enough space between herself and her defender to send a bounce shot towards the goal and into the back of the net, tying the game at 2-2. 

• 9 seconds later, Antonia Martinez scored her first goal of the game to put the Hawks on top. Off the draw control, Martinez won the ball off a bounce and took off sprinting towards the Warriors goal. Martinez would run behind the goal and around the side. Cutting inside to throw off her defender, Martinez scored to put the Hawks ahead 3-2. 

• Over three minutes passed before the Hawks doubled their lead over the Warriors. Busche went on to score her second goal of the game at 2:17 with a powerful shot into the back of the net. 

• Less than a minute later, Martinez scored her second of the game at 1:23. With a defender right on her, Martinez was able to place herself right in front of the goal and send a shot past the Warrior defender and goalkeeper, giving the Hawks a 5-2 lead. 

• Martinez then recorded a hat-trick before the end of the quarter with a high shot from the inside.

• At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led the Warriors 6-2. 

Second Quarter (Illinois Tech 6 - Hendrix 3)

• 35 seconds into the second quarter, the Warriors ended their scoring drought with a free-position goal by Refling. 

• Lillian Sonner then brought the Warriors within two at 12:23 with a goal off a Refling assist. 

• At 11:49, Busche recorded a hat-trick for herself with the Hawks seventh goal of the game. 

• Just over a minute later, the Warriors came back within one with a goal by Eliza Thacker. 

• Three minutes of scoreless action followed before Hitchcock broke the silence. Scoring her second of the game, Hitchcock, with two defenders in front of her, was able to fire off a shot and score, putting the Hawks ahead 8-5. 

• Then, at 6:53, Busche assisted Martinez for her fourth goal of the game. With Martine making a run across the goal, Busche fed the ball inside to her. Martinez immediately turned and threw a shot towards the goal, finding the back of the net. 

• Barely over a minute later, Busche scored her fourth of the game. Making a run directly at goal, Busche scored off a bounce shot, putting the Hawks ahead 10-5. 

• 15 seconds would go by before the Hawks Martinez once again found the back of the net. 

• The final goal of the quarter came with 3:57 on the clock by Hitchcock, earning her a hat-trick with her third goal of the game. With just four seconds remaining on the shot clock, Hitchcock scored with a slingshot of a goal. 

• At halftime, the Hawks led the Warriors 12-5. 

Third Quarter (Illinois Tech 1 - Hendrix 4)

• Continuing where she left off before halftime, Hitchcock scored her fourth of the game at 13:30. Busche assisted the goal as she passed off the ball to Hitchcock who was making a run right at the goal. Hitchcock received the ball and immediately took a shot, sending the ball into the back of the net. 

• Breaking their scoreless streak at 11:34, the Warriors Refling scored off a Palmer assist. 

• The duo of Refling and Palmer once again scored for the Warriors at 7:20, making the score 13-7 in favor of the Hawks. 

• Nearly four minutes passed before the Warriors found the back of the net once again. This time, Kinley Robinson scored off a Eliza Thacker assist. 

• Palmer then brought the Warriors within four goals with her second of the game with two minutes remaining. 

• Palmer's goal marked the final goal of the quarter as the Hawks led 13-9. 

Fourth Quarter (Illinois Tech 5 - Hendrix 2)

• In a man-up situation, Martinez opened up the goal scoring for the fourth quarter with a goal off a Hitchcock assist at 13:44. With Martinez making a  run across goal, Hitchcock sent a perfectly passed ball her way. Martinez received, turned, and sent a slingshot shot into the back of the net. 

• At 11:27, the Warriors scored their tenth goal of the game with a goal by Refling off a Sonner assist. 

• Hendrix then went on to record their final goal of the game at the 9:39 mark when Palmer found the back of the net for the third time. Here, the Hawks led the Warriors 14-11. 

• Then, between 7:17 and 6:17, the Hawks would find the back of the net three times. At 7:17, Iona Pettigrew scored her lone goal of the game. With an overthrown pass going towards the Warriors goalkeeper, Pettigrew was able to dash in front and pick up the ball. Pettigrew gained control, cut back in towards the goal, and placed a shot right past the Warriors goalkeeper. 

• Hitchcock then followed with her final goal of the game at 6:36. With the ball, Hitchcock took off running towards the goal, cutting through the Warriors defense and scored with a bounce shot.

• 21 seconds later, Martinez recorded her 7th and final goal of the game. 

• The final goal of the game came with just 1:58 remaining when Mya Huddleston scored off a Busche assist. Making a run across the goal, Huddleston received the ball from Busche, turned and sent the ball into the back of the net, securing the Hawks their first victory of the season as they defeated the Warriors 18-11. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Antonia Martinez - 7 goals, 13 shots, 11 shots on goal, 3 ground balls, 4 draw controls

• Kelly Hitchcock - 5 goals, 1 assist, 10 shots, 8 shots on goal, 7 ground balls, 1 caused turnover, 15 draw controls

• Faith Busche - 4 goals, 3 assists, 8 shots, 7 shots on goal, 6 ground balls, 1 caused turnover, 1 draw control

• Iona Pettigrew - 1 goal, 3 shots, 3 shots on goal, 2 ground balls

• Mya Huddleston - 1 goal, 2 shots, 1 shot on goal, 1 ground ball

Warrior Standouts

• Peyton Refling - 5 goals, 1 assist, 7 shots, 6 shots on goal, 1 ground ball, 5 draw controls

• Alaina Palmer - 3 goals, 2 assists, 4 shots, 3 shots on goal, 4 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers, 2 draw controls

• Eliza Thacker - 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots, 3 shots on goal, 2 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers, 2 draw controls

• Kinley Robinson - 1 goal, 2 shots, 2 shots on goal 

• Lillian Sonner - 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots, 5 shots on goal

Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks out-shot the Warriors 36-27, with the Hawks recording 30 shots on goal versus the Warriors 22

• Both teams finished the game with 10 saves

• The Hawks committed 25 turnovers while the Warriors committed 17

• In clears, the Hawks were 17-for-20 and the Warriors were 14-for-17

• For ground balls, the Hawks led 23-13

• Illinois Tech led in the draw control 20-12 

• The Warriors were 1-for-2 in free position shot opportunities while the Hawks were 0-for-1 

Up Next

The Hawks will return to action on Saturday, March 2nd, when they host the Elmhurst University Bluejays at Stuart Field. The non-conference contest will begin at 12:00 PM.