MARQUETTE, Mich. — The NMU women’s lacrosse team downed the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 16-7 from the Superior Dome on Saturday.
The Wildcats (9-3, 3-1 GLIAC) got another outstanding effort from junior attacker Josie Lakosky, who paced the field with eight goals and three assists for 11 points on 11 shots with 10 on target. Not only was Lakosky fire on offense, but in the draw circle as well, pulling down a career-best 10 of the Wildcats 17 draw controls, while the Golden Bears as a team were held to nine in total.
Lakosky has now scored eight goals on four occasions, with three of those also including 11-point outings, and has scored at least three goals or recorded three points in all but one game this season.
The Wildats had multi-point games, including Vanessa Carrico (2-0–2), Hannah Jabas (1-1–2), and Avery Lorinser (1-1–2). Hannah Grimm, Annabelle Johnson, Evita Weiche, and Abby Sisson all recorded tallies of their own.
Sophie Langsdale matched the Wildcat season-best five caused turnovers to go with a pair of ground balls to lead the Wildcat defense. Lakosky had three CT and GB, Natalie Thomas posted three GB and one CT, and Payton Ross collected a pair of each.
Goalkeeper Lauren Espostio improved to 7-3 on the season, making seven saves for a .500 SV%.
As a team, NMU had advantages in shots (32-17) and shots on goal (22-11), draw controls (17-9), caused turnovers (13-6), and went 15/16 on clear attempts, compared to 15/20. CSP held a slim advantage in ground balls (18-16) and recorded four more turnovers (20-16).
With the win, NMU reached the nine-win mark, the second-fastest in program history, behind the 2024 team that went 9-2 to open the season.
How It Happened
The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals from Lakosky and a tally from Johsnon, outshooting CSP 7-2 and forcing a pair of early caused turnovers from Sophie Langsdale. CSP called a timeout, but Lakosky came out of the timeout and scored her third goal in the first nine minutes of play.
NMU would go on to outscore CSP 4-1 in the second frame, thanks to a pair from Lakosky and Vanessa Carrico. NMU also held advantages in shots on goal (7-2), draw controls (4-1), and seven of the CSP’s eight turnovers were caused by the Wildcats, three of which came from the stick of Lakosky.
Evita Weiche added her second goal of the season in the third quarter, and two more tallies from Lakosky gave the ‘Cats a commanding 10-3 lead after the third frame.
Hannah Grimm and Hannah Jabas added goals of their own in the final period, forcing CSP to call a timeout as the ‘Cats gained a running clock advantage. Sisson added the final Wildcat tally of the evening, and the ‘Cats would go on to win 16-7.
Up Next
The ‘Cats host Davenport and Grand Valley on Friday, April 10, and Sunday, April 12, to round out the home regular season schedule. Opening draws are set for 5 p.m. and 12 p.m. ET from the Superior Dome.
