After digging an early 9-0 hole, the John Carroll University women's lacrosse team was unable to stage a comeback.

JCU suffered a 14-8 loss to the Capital Crusaders in the OAC Tournament semifinals in Bexley, Ohio on Wednesday evening.

The Crusaders controlled the contest from start to finish, enjoying success in all aspects of the contest after taking a 9-0 lead heading into the second half.

The Blue Streaks finish the season at 11-5 following JCU's second OAC Tournament appearance in the young program's history.   

Capital started the scoring in the 25th minute with two goals in 25 seconds. Kim Hoerauf notched both for the Crusaders, the first from the right side and the second on a cut to the net. The Crusaders never looked back after drawing first blood.

Kara Hines, Taylor Thomas, and Hoerauf all added goals before the midway point of the first half, advancing the Capital lead to five.

By the time the dust settled at halftime, the Crusaders held a vice grip on the lead, 9-0. Hoerhauf, Thomas, and Korri Titus all added goals for Capital before the end of the stanza.

The Blue Streaks got on the board early in the second half. Brooke McQuinn fired a shot from the near side, as the ball deflected off the stick off the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Following a quick Capital response, Marielle St. Amand beat the Capital goalkeeper on a wraparound, putting the ball on the top shelf for her 16th goal of the season.

Hoerauf struck again in response before the Blue Streaks scored two straight at the 13 minute mark of the half. St. Amand tallied the first goal on an assist from Grace Curatolo. Meghan Harte finished off the next goal on an assist from McQuinn. Capital called a timeout following the pair of tallies to slow down the JCU offense.

The tactic worked, as neither squad scored for the next seven minutes. Victoria Husain scored with 6:20 remaining in the half, thanks to an assist from Regan Hanood off a free position attempt.

Gina Vilsack responded with her team-best 50th and 51st goal of the season in the final six minutes, matching her goal total from last season. Curatolo also added her 44th goal of the season with 2:06 left, leading to a JCU timeout. Senior Kaley LaForce notched her fifth goal of the year in the final minute, though JCU's rally came too late.

Hoerauf led the offensive effort on the night for Capital, scoring 7 goals on 12 shots.

The Crusaders advance to 12-4 on the season and will play the winner of Mount Union vs. Baldwin Wallace matchup on Saturday, May 7, at the home field of the highest seed.