BELOIT—It certainly didn’t end the way anyone wanted it to, but the Beloit College lacrosse team had one of the best seasons in the program’s history.
The Buccaneers finished 9-7 overall this season, the most victories since they won nine in 2015, and went 4-2 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, their best record since joining in 2022.
Beloit made it to the NACC Championship game, its first in program history, but couldn’t overcome a strong Aurora University squad, which has yet to lose a conference game since joining the NACC in 2021.
The Bucs kept pace with the Spartans as Daisy Kleinhoffer, Johanna McNair, Maya DeGeorge and Maggie Mudd all scored goals in the first quarter before Aurora went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-4 lead.
Cassidy Felix made it 10-5 in the second off an assist from Mudd, her second of the game, but the Spartans’ defense was stout and it kept Beloit off the board to take a 15-5 lead.
DeGeorge added a goal in the third and Felix scored her second in the fourth but the Spartans kept ahead to hold on for the 20-7 victory.
Goalie Sofia Jeddeloh had 11 saves for the Bucs while Meghan Ginty made four for Aurora in 45 minutes of action while Alexis Crowley recorded a pair of saves in 15 minutes.
Felix paced Beloit in both shots (5) and shots on goal (4) while Mudd finished with three points and forced two turnovers. Suzanne Healy had a team-high four draws controlled.
The Bucs, who were awarded the third seed in the tournament after finishing there in the conference standings, had advanced to the championship after beating No. 2 Edgewood 14-13 in overtime.
Both squads recorded three shots in the extra period, with the Eagles almost ending it on a shot that banged off of the post. A yellow card on Edgewood gave Mudd a free-position shot, which she sank to pull off the upset.
The Bucs had been up 13-12 but Kerry Costello scored on a free-position shot with just two seconds left to keep the Eagles alive.
McNair paced Beloit with six points as she scored four goals and added two assists. Mudd had two goals and three assists while DeGeorge scored four goals. Felix was the last Buc with multiple goals scored as she had three.
Jeddeloh made 14 saves in the semifinal.
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