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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
WLAX_NCAA_5.9.21
Ginsberg's career day vaulted the Blue Streaks. 
6
Wis.-River Falls UWRF 9-3
21
Winner John Carroll JCUW 17-1
Wis.-River Falls UWRF
9-3
6
Final
21
John Carroll JCUW
17-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wis.-River Falls UWRF 4 2 6
John Carroll JCUW 14 7 21

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse | | Luke Potosky, Staff Writer

Women’s Lacrosse Tabs A+ Performance in NCAA Tourney Debut, Advancing to Sweet 16

CHICAGO, Ill. --  John Carroll University Women's Lacrosse rolled into Chicago with one clear mission: winning their first-ever NCAA Tournament game.

 With a hurricane of goals and fortress-like defense, the Blue Streaks left the Windy City with the mission accomplished.

On May 8, the magical John Carroll run continued, as they upended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 21-6, at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Chicago, winning their first NCAA Tournament game in school history and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

"We're very excited about our win today," said Head Coach Rachel Dell. "We've been prepping all week for Wisconsin-River Falls. We knew they're a fast team with skilled shooters. We've been prepping for increasing the pressure in our re-defend, earning the draw, and making sure we had the marks on defense we needed to have so their scoring opportunities were as limited as possible. The team did a fantastic job executing the game plan, so I was happy to see us be so aggressive."

Jenna Ginsberg steered a great offensive attack that scored early and often. Ginsberg enjoyed a career night with 7 goals and 2 assists. 

"Tonight, we played as an entire team," said Ginsberg. "Last Saturday, we had a great game. Today, everyone had a great game. I couldn't have done it without everyone else."

UW-River Falls got on the board less than a minute into the ballgame, but the Blue Streaks bounced back strong. Emma Workman swiftly responded with a score to even things back up. Jill Jarem then found Claire Mezzoprete in front of the goal to give the Blue and Gold the lead. After that, Ginsberg drove inside and found the back of the net for a 3-1 JCU advantage.

Soon after, Ginsberg found Mezzoprete in front of the goal again for her second score of the night. However, the Falcons stalled the 4-1 JCU run with another goal to make it a 4-2 contest. But the Blue and Gold wasted little time in responding.

Less than ten seconds later, Colleen Grombala took the opening draw control down the field and threw a pass to Ginsberg who found the back of the net. It was déjà vu just moments later as Grombala took the opening draw control down the field once more, but this time, she kept it herself and found the back of the net for a 6-2 Blue Streak lead.

A few minutes later, however, UW-River Falls countered with another score from in front of the goal. But as was the common theme, John Carroll responded. Grombala drove into the inner fan and dished off to Mezzoprete who scored from the right side to make it 7-3.

After a couple of minutes of back-and-forth play, Ginsberg had a fastbreak chance and converted her third goal of the game, giving herself a hat trick. Then, Ginsberg drove from right to left and scored her fourth goal of the night, making it a 9-3 JCU advantage. 

Just seconds later, Sophie Grabowski found a cutting Emma Workman for another score. Then, Alex Heishman picked up a loose ball and found the back of the net. Shortly after that, Carly Ross then went from right to left and found the back of the net to make it 12-3, concluding a 6-0 Blue Streak run of goals. 

The Falcons would finally stall that run with a free-position goal to make it 12-4. But just a few seconds later, Grombala picked up the draw control and sprinted her way to another goal. Finally, with 30 seconds left in the half, Ginsberg picked up a loose ball just outside the outer fan, drove down the middle, and scored her fifth goal of the contest, ending the first half with John Carroll on top 14-4.

Coming out of halftime, the Falcons scored from close-range to lower their deficit to nine. However, as was the theme all night, JCU was able to respond. Emma Workman found Grombala who cut from the left side of the goal to the right and fought through traffic for a hat trick, making it 15-5. 

Just moments later, Grombala went on the fastbreak and found Olivia Gerlach for the close-range goal. After that, Ginsberg used a savvy spin move to make space for her sixth goal of the game. Then, Ginsberg went on the fastbreak and found Heishman who spun and scored from close-range, making it 18-5.

Ross then drove down the left side, spun, and scored on her own from close range to make it 19-5. Ginsberg followed that up with her seventh goal of the contest and gave JCU a 20-5 lead.

A few timeouts were then taken over the next several minutes allowed for players on both sides to gain quality NCAA Tournament experiences. UW-River Falls added a goal towards the end of the game, but so did Hanulak, who made it a 21-6 final score.
 
The Blue Streaks dominated the stat books in their NCAA Tournament debut. They had 32 of 36 shots on goal compared to the Falcons' 14 of 21 tally. The Blue and Gold won the draw control battle 19-8 and also won the ground ball total 25-21.

In goal, Kaleigh Kotula gave a strong performance with six saves in her 11 shots faced on goal. Maddie Munding also added two saves in her ten minutes of play.

"It's no different than any other game," said Kotula. "We always want to have fun, and we want to keep going. I trust my defense to make plays in front of my in case the ball pops out on a save, so no different than normal. Just have fun and keep going." 

Shannon Burdick led the way with five ground balls, followed by Gerlach and Ginsberg who each tallied three. Molly Carroll and Ginsberg each had two caused turnovers defensively as well.

Offensively, Ginsberg was the shining star of the night with a career-high seven goals and two assists. Grombala paired three goals with three assists on the night. Mezzoprete was one of three Blue Streaks who finished with a hat trick. Workman finished with a pair of goals and an assist. Ross and Heishman each tallied two goals to their names. Hanulak and Gerlach also scored a goal apiece.

"We worked so well together," said Grombala. "We played our game, we connected passes we needed to. Whenever we were starting to get down, we came back even stronger. We connected passes all the way through transition into attack and into fast breaks. We knew what we had to do, and we pulled together. It was super exciting being out there."

"We're usually able to rely on Colleen for a handful of goals and assists and always on the draw. Jenna is often there for goals and assists, but not in the way she was today," said Dell. "This was a career performance for her. It's exciting to see her level of play elevate as we go forward in the NCAA Tournament."

The Blue Streaks improve to 17-1 on the season advance to the Sweet Sixteen (otherwise known as the Regional Round) of the NCAA Tournament. 

The next game will take place on May 15 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. John Carroll is scheduled to take on the University of Chicago, which won their tournament opener 20-2 over Hamline.

"The mindset tonight is that we're playing to be together," said Dell. "Wins mean more time with each other, and that we get to play in front of our families and parents in Virginia. The mindset was to continue to celebrate each other and live in the moment. Don't get ahead of ourselves, and stay in the present. Now that we've proven that we can win NCAA games, this will only fuel our confidence as we head into next weekend."
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