Chicago, Ill. — Illinois Tech Women's Soccer defeated Carthage College 4-1 on Monday night at Stuart Field, in the process extending their season-best winning streak to 6 games. The Scarlet Hawks set the pace with 19 first-half shots and finished with a 29-9 advantage in shots.
The Hawks improved 7-3-0 overall. The Firebirds fell to 2-3-5 overall.
How It Happened
The Scarlet Hawks created the first sustained push with a corner at 3:09 and shots from
Olivia Roy and
Eva Narvarte, and after
Clara Estiandan saved the Firebirds' early attempt,
Grace Yager scored off
Tvesa Vathulya's assist at 8:55 for a 1-0 lead. Vathulya forced a save at 12:55, and after the Firebirds earned a corner and had another shot saved at 20:41, the Scarlet Hawks generated chances from
Emma Conway and Vathulya before
Leena Almeqbeli scored from Roy at 28:14 to make it 2-0. The Scarlet Hawks kept the attack moving after the second goal, with Vathulya forcing another save,
Kayla Thomas sending a shot out top left, Roy taking back-to-back shots that included one off the top woodwork, and Yager putting a later attempt out top right after a 32:35 corner. The Firebirds created a late corner and saw Estiandan save a shot at 37:52, but the Scarlet Hawks added a third when
Avery Sealey scored from
Elisa Salcedo at 40:33 and carried a 3-0 lead into halftime.
With the Scarlet Hawks holding a 3-0 lead, the second half opened with a physical stretch before Roy put a shot forward and
Kayla Hampton saved Reese Staniak's attempt at 58:42. The Scarlet Hawks followed with sustained pressure, getting shots from
Kayla Thomas, Vathulya, Conway and
Joanne Porter before
Kayla Frassinelli scored at 65:51 to make it 4-0. The Firebirds pushed back with four attacking actions from 71:36 to 78:21, including saves by
Emmy Anderson on Halle Lepak and Malie Cassel, and Marin Mooney later scored off a Cassel assist at 82:27 to cut the score to 4-1. The Scarlet Hawks finished the half with another attacking spell, as
Caroline Bock and Sealey forced saves around two corner kicks, and the Scarlet Hawks closed out a 4-1 win.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Leena Almeqbeli
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- one goal
- game-winning goal
- one shot on goal
Avery Sealey
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- one goal
- two shots on goal
Grace Yager
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- one goal
- two shots
Kayla Frassinelli
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- one goal
- one shot on goal
Tvesa Vathulya
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- one assist
- four shots, two on goal
Firebirds Top Performers
Marin Mooney
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- 1 goal
- 1 shot on goal
Tatiana Valdez
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- 7 saves
- 90:00 in goal
Malie Cassel
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- 1 assist
- 2 shots, 1 on goal
Georggia Desario
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- 2 shots, both on goal
Game Notes:
- Team - Achieved at least 4 goals in 6 consecutive games.
- Team - Achieved at least 3 assists in 5 consecutive games.
- Team - Achieved at least 11 shots on goal in 3 consecutive games.
- Sealey - Scored first goal of the season.
- Yager - Scored their first goal of the season.
- Vathulya - Registered 4 or more shots in 3 straight games.
- Vathulya - Achieved a season total of 20 points.
- Vathulya - Recorded at least 1 assist in 3 consecutive games.
- The Scarlet Hawks improved to 3-0 lifetime against the Firebirds. This was the first meeting since 2022.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks host Benedictine University on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, at 7 p.m. at Stuart Field in a return to NACC play.
