Wildcats edge Concordia-St.Paul 9-7
ALLENDALE, Mich. – The NMU lacrosse team defeated the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 9-7 to advance to the GLIAC Championship.
The No. 3 Wildcats (11-7, 4-4 GLIAC) downed the No. 2 Golden Bears (9-8, 5-3) in the first round of the postseason for the third-consecutive season, all three of those wins coming from the GVSU Lacrosse stadium on the campus of Grand Valley State. The No. 1 Lakers (14-3, 8-0 GLIAC) were down 4-0 after the first quarter before exploding for seven goals in the second, rallying to beat the No. 4 Davenport Panthers (9-8, 3-5 GLIAC) to advance to the finals.
NMU will face host team GVSU on Sunday, May 4, at noon ET for the third-consecutive meeting between the two sides in the championship. NMU dropped the season series against the Lakers, falling 11-12 in heartbreaking fashion in overtime at home, and 4-11 in Allendale. Fans can purchase tickets here, can stream the game on FloLive here, and can follow along with live stats here.
The 2025 GLIAC Attacker of the Year, Josie Lakosky, was all over the field for NMU, as she paced the field in assists and points (1-3–4) while posting season-highs in both caused turnovers (4) and ground balls (5), marking just the second time in her career she’s had 4+ points, 4+ caused turnovers, and 5+ ground balls in the same game. NMU got a pair of goals from both Taylor Priestley and Hannah Jabas, and tallies from Emily Radke, Katelyn Wozney, Maddi Bast, and Abby Sisson to round out the scoring.
Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Esposito was stellar in net when the team needed her, as she posted a career-high 13 saves from a season-high 29 shots faced for a .650 SV%, her highest save percentage among games where she has made 7+ saves and allowed 7+ goals this season.
The ‘Cats were responsible with the ball in the midfield, recording a season-high 23 clears. NMU also posted the sixth game of the season, third-consecutive, and fourth instance in the last five games the team has recorded double-digit caused turnovers. NMU only won seven draw controls and are 2-2 this season in games where the ‘Cats have won seven or fewer draws, both of the wins coming against CSP.
How It Happened
The ‘Cats opened the scoring early, as NMU won the opening draw and scored just over a minute into the contest, coming from the stick of Priestley. NMU won the ensuing draw and it only took a minute and a half later for the Wildcats to double-up it’s lead. Jabas made the NMU lead three goals to none just before the five-minute mark, and it took ten minutes of playing time to find the next goal, this coming as CSPs first of the evening to cut into the Wildcat lead. NMU responded by scoring two goals just 42 seconds apart in the final minute of the first, and the Green and Gold held a 5-1 lead.
An early free-position goal from the Golden Bears opened the scoring and sparked the CSP offense in quarter two, as Concordia scored three unanswered tallies in the first 13 minutes before NMU could respond, as Wozney scored her fourth of the season on a free position shot. Lakosky, who has been all over the field reeking havoc, caused a turnover and stormed into the CSP zone with time expiring. Lakosky drew a foul and free position attempt with eight seconds left, scoring the goal that regained a Wildcat three goal lead heading into the locker room.
It took ten minutes of play out of the locker room, but Jabas scored off a sweet pass from Lakosky, and NMU had its four-goal lead fully restored. CSP added a FPG less than a minute later, the Golden Bears added another with a minute and a half left, and NMU was up 8-6 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
Smith scored a free-position goal just 40 seconds into the final quarter, and the NMU lead was cut back to one once again. Eight minutes of game time elapsed before the next tally, and it was a big one. Lakosky, who was taken out of the game to get medically checked, came back into the game and found Priestley on the goal mount to score her second of the evening, restoring a two-goal cushion and closing out the game.
