WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Catholic University women's lacrosse team rode a strong team effort to a marquee victory over Chicago on Monday afternoon, downing the Maroons in a tight affair, 11-10.

Eight different Cardinals scored in the contest that never saw either team lead by more than three goals. Izzy Fiore was the only Catholic player with more than a single goal, firing four past No. 22 Chicago just two days after a career-best five-goal game against Lycoming.

After falling behind 6-5 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Catholic produced a 4-0 run with two goals on either side of halftime to take a 9-6 lead. Fiore equalized just 30 seconds after Chicago took the lead before Mia Perkell scored a rocket with just eight seconds remaining in the half to send Catholic to the break with the slimmest of leads.

After the interval, Fiore picked up right where she left off, completing her hat trick just 21 seconds into the third quarter after Catholic won the draw control to open the half. Freshman Maggie Traynor got on the scoresheet with 6:42 remaining in the stanza to force a Maroon timeout at 9-6.

Chicago responded well, scoring just 40 seconds after head coach Kate Robison's timeout. The Maroons continued to show good fight, cutting the lead to one twice late in third stanza as Wynne Boggan scored twice, sandwiching an Ellie Verrill tally that took the teams to quarter break at 10-9. 

The fourth quarter featured high-level defense as both teams squeezed the opposing attacks. However Fiore was able to score five minutes into the stanza to push the Cardinal lead back to two.

Chicago cut the lead to one when Olivia Escoffery found the net with five minutes remaining on the player advantage to apply the ultimate pressure to the Cardinals. The Maroons had one final chance with 18 seconds remaining and possession below their own goal line, but Verrill jumped a pass from the goalkeeper in the midfield to seal the victory.

Lauren Bendo and Grace Button produced inspired defensive performances, leading a Catholic effort that saw the Cardinals respond quicker to virtually every ground ball. Bendo won two draw controls, caused two turnovers and gathered a staggering five ground balls while Button caused three turnovers and matched her teammate with five ground balls. Freshman defender Caroline Gaines had a big day for Catholic as well with three draw controls and two ground balls while Jessie Lee led the team with four draw controls.

Catholic won the ground ball battle (26-17), the turnover battle (29-19) and were nearly perfect in the clear (25-for-26). They also forced Chicago into eight failed clears (19-for-27), marking the second-straight game that the Cardinals have forced their opponents into seven or more failed clears.

Catholic goalkeeper Lauren Davidson made 10 saves in the victory and scooped up one ground ball while Chicago's Boggan registered an impressive eight points with six goals and two assists.

With the victory, Catholic avenges last season's 12-9 loss to the Maroons and picks up its first win over a ranked opponent in nearly five years, dating back to May 4, 2019, when the Cardinals knocked off their rivals, No. 18  Scranton, in the Landmark Conference Championship.

The match-up features multiple connections between the two programs as Catholic head coach Meghan McDonogh coached Robinson during her time as a Cardinal player. Robinson holds Catholic program records in goals and points, and her brother, Kevin Robinson, is Catholic University's Director of Athletics.

Catholic will now hit the road for two consecutive contests, beginning with a conference battle with Drew on Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals and the Rangers are set to meet in Madison, N.J., at 4 p.m.