Lake Forest, Ill. - Six minutes into their non-conference match at Lake Forest Saturday afternoon, the Illinois Tech women's lacrosse team had come back to pull within one goal of the Foresters at 3-2. But a persistent attack by the hosts for the remainder of the first half gave the Foresters some breathing room, and they stepped on the gas pedal in the second half, outscoring the Hawks 11-3 en route to a 22-10 victory. The Scarlet Hawks fell to 1-3 on the season, while the Foresters improved to 3-2.

First Quarter (Lake Forest 6 - Illinois Tech 3)
Lake Forest staked out to a 3-0 lead five minutes into the opening quarter, with Daulath Khan scoring a pair of goals for the hosts during that stretch. But the Scarlet Hawks scored a pair of goals in 48 seconds, culminated by an Antonia Martinez goal at 9:08 to cut the Hawks' deficit to 3-2. Lake Forest went back to work to regain momentum, scoring another trio of goals to extend their lead to 6-2. Martinez cut the Scarlet Hawks deficit in half with a player-up goal at 2:25, as the Hawks closed out the quarter trailing 6-3.

Second Quarter (Lake Forest 5 - Illinois Tech 4)
Kelly Hitchcock got the Hawks on the board first in the second quarter with her second of the match during a player-up opportunity, pulling the Hawks within two at 6-4 at 13:09. But Emma Sharp and Ryleigh Nelson of the Foresters each scored a pair of back-to-back goals to boost the Lake Forest lead to 10-4. Martinez countered for the Scarlet Hawks with a pair of goals, her third and fourth of the match, to cut the Lake Forest lead to 10-6. The Foresters and Scarlet Hawks would trade solo tallies over the final 6:31 of the quarter for an 11-7 Lake Forest halftime lead.

Third Quarter (Lake Forest 5 - Illinois Tech 2)
Jenna Doctor of the Foresters scored her third of the match 53 seconds into the third quarter to increase their lead to 12-7. But the Scarlet Hawks Faith Busche scored a pair of goals in just over two minutes, sandwiched around a Forester short-handed goal by Nelson, to bring the Hawks within four goals again at 13-9. Lake Forest ramped up their attack over the final three minutes, scoring three unanswered goals, including two goals in the final ten seconds of the quarter, to push the Foresters' lead to 16-9.

Fourth Quarter (Lake Forest 6 - Illinois Tech 1)
Martinez scored an unassisted goal at 13:31 of the fourth quarter, her fifth of the match, to pull Illinois Tech within six goals at 16-10. Unfortunately that would be the last time the Scarlet Hawks would find the back of the net in the match, as the Foresters closed out the game with six unanswered goals, with Doctor scoring her sixth and seventh of the match, and Nelson her fifth, for the 22-10 Lake Forest victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Antonia Martinez with 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points, and 3 draw controls.
• Kelly Hitchcock with 3 goals on 8 shots, 5 on goal, 1 assist, along with 9 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers and 9 draw controls.
• Faith Busche with 4 points on 2 goals and 2 assists.
• Isabelle Niebler with 3 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers.

Foresters Watch

• Ryleigh Nelson had 12 points on the strength of 5 goals and 7 assists, with 4 ground balls.
• Jenna Doctor led all scorers with 7 goals, with 11 on goal, to go with 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers and 2 draw controls.
• Daulath Khan with three goals.
• Ali Graham with 3 assists, 2 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers and 11 draw controls.

Inside The Box Score

• Lake Forest had a 44-30 advantage in shots
• Illinois Tech was 3-5 free position shots, while Lake Forest converted on 3 of 6.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks continue their five-game road swing, as they embark on their spring break trip to Kentucky for a pair of matches, starting with a non-conference match at Spalding Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM in Louisville.