MINNEAPOLIS -- In a close, hard-fought contest, the Augsburg University women's lacrosse team clinched the No. 2 berth in the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference postseason playoffs, pulling away in the second half for an 8-5 win over Concordia University-Wisconsin on Friday morning at Edor Nelson Field.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 8, Concordia-Wisconsin 5
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field
RECORDS: Augsburg 12-4 overall (10-1 MWLC), Concordia-Wisconsin 10-6 overall (9-2 MWLC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The game was a tight one throughout, with neither team leading by more than a goal until the final 16:32 of play. After Concordia cut the Augsburg lead to 5-4 with 13:27 left, Augsburg ran off three straight goals -- by Izzy Snow (JR, Golden Valley, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), Delaney Everett (SR, Brooklyn Center, Minn./Champlin Park HS) and Mikayla Knudson (SO, Zimmerman, Minn./Elk River HS) -- to take an 8-4 lead with 1:12 left. Snow's and Everett's goals were both assisted by Allie Tuccitto (FY, Rosemount, Minn./Eastview HS).
• Everett, Snow and Knudson also scored first-half goals for the Auggies. Everett and Snow each added two ground balls, two caused turnovers and a draw control, while Knudson had a ground ball and caused turnover.
• Snow now has a single-season school-record 63 points (43 goals, 20 assists), standing third among MWLC players in overall statistics in points, tied for third in assists and seventh in goals. She has scored a goal in 15 of Augsburg's 16 games so far this season.
• In addition to her two assists, Tuccitto also scored a goal at the 21:30 mark of the second half, putting the Auggies ahead for good at 4-3. Over her last six games, Tuccitto has scored 15 goals with seven assists for 22 points.
• Demey Everett (SO, Brooklyn Center, Minn./Champlin Park HS) scored a goal, and Helena Nguyen (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) recorded an assist with three caused turnovers.
• Christina Nelson (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) collected six draw controls, two ground balls and two draw controls, while Jessie Heusinkveld (SR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Wsetonka HS) had three caused turnovers and two ground balls. Citlaly Escobar (FY, New Brighton, Minn./Irondale HS) had four caused turnovers and three ground balls, and Annika Hegrenes (SO, Maplewood, Minn./Concordia Academy HS) had five caused turnovers and four ground balls.
• Goalie Marissa Guillou (SR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) recorded 10 saves, along with three ground balls and a caused turnover. Guillou leads the MWLC in goals against-average (5.34) and save percentage (.579).
• Augsburg outshot Concordia by a 42-20 margin, and had an 8-7 advantage in draw controls.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• In its third year in MWLC play, Augsburg will compete in its third straight MWLC postseason playoffs. Augsburg's 10-1 conference record this season is its most-ever in league play in a single campaign. Augsburg is now 24-7 in the regular season against MWLC competition over the last three years.
• Augsburg's 12 overall victories match last year's 12-6 overall record for the team's most wins in a single campaign.

FOR THE FOES
• Lauren Paquin scored two goals with six ground balls and four caused turnovers. Kristen Kennedy, Allison Kurek and Caitlin Henry also scored goals for the Falcons.
• Kurek added six caused turnovers, five ground balls and four draw controls, and Henry had three caused turnovers, three ground balls and three draw controls.
• Kennedy Boyer had 19 saves in goal for Concordia.

UP NEXT
• As the No. 2 seed, Augsburg will face No. 3-seed Concordia-Wisconsin again next Friday (5/4) at 2 p.m. in the MWLC playoff semifinals at top-seed Hamline. The winner would meet the other semifinal winner next Saturday (5/5) at 6 p.m. in the playoff title game, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national playoffs.
• It is the second year in a row that Augsburg and Concordia-Wisconsin will have met in both their regular-season finales and playoff semifinal games. Last year, Augsburg claimed a 16-15 overtime win at Concordia in the final regular-season game, then fell 10-6 to the Falcons in the playoff semifinals.