ST. PAUL, Minn. - This weekend, Concordia-St. Paul women's lacrosse returns home as part of its four game homestand in its inaugural season. Concordia (2-0) will host Westminster (0-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Findlay (0-0) on Sunday at 11 a.m. as part of the Sea Foam Festival.

SEA FOAM FESTIVAL: WEEKEND LACROSSE SCHEDULE AT CONCORDIA DOME
Twin Cities lacrosse enthusiasts can enjoy a full weekend of NCAA varsity women's lacrosse at the Concordia Dome. In addition to the NCAA Division II contests in a  three day triangular format between CSP, Westminster and Findlay, area Division III programs will be competing in games as well, below is the schedule. Please note: fans attending the CSP, Westminster & Findlay games will pay regular CSP athletics admission rates (adults: $6, students/seniors: $4, CSP ID & children 10 & under are free).

Friday, February 24:
7:00 p.m. - CSP vs Westminster

Saturday, February 25:
12:30 p.m. - Findlay vs Westminster
3:30 p.m. - Hamline vs Colorado College
6:00 p.m. - Northwestern vs Colorado College

Sunday, February 26:
11:00 a.m. - CSP vs. Findlay

GAMEDAY ATMOSPHERE
The Concordia Dome features four 3-row bleachers and limited bench seating along the west sideline. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors, children 10 and under and CSP students are free with ID. Spectators may also bring their own seating in the event that bleachers and benches are full. Food, beverages and pets are not allowed inside Concordia Dome, and restrooms are located under the stadium concourse just outside the revolving doors.
 
During game play, spectators will be entertained by former Minnesota Swarm personality "The Professor" Howard Green. He'll conduct brief pre-game, halftime and post-game interviews with coaches and players and his in-game announcing will be tailored towards engaging fans in an informative and exciting format.

ONLINE COVERAGE
For fans unable to make it to Concordia Dome to see the inaugural weekend in person, the CSP games (Friday & Sunday) will be streamed live online, free of charge through CSP's GameCentral portal via Stretch Internet. The broadcast features a single camera feed located at midfield and will be accompanied in the portal by live in-game statistics.
 
Audio will be provided by Alex Ross, head coach at Apple Valley High School since 2009 and also has experience in broadcasting at the MSHSL State Tournament level. She was the 2014 Minnesota State Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year for the Eagles. Ross is typically CSP's color commentator, but will slide into a solo play-by-play role this weekend.
 
In addition to the interactive GameCentral portal with video & rich live stats, a traditional HTML-based live stats option is also available.

ABOUT THE BEARS: 2-0 START TO INAUGURAL CAMPAIGN
Concordia is off to a strong start under first year head coach Mo Dunnigan, defeating Northland (Wis.) 23-0 and Marian (Ind.) 10-8 on inaugural weekend at the Concordia Dome. Inaugural weekend featured the first games for all three programs, although Marian spent the 2016 playing an exhibition schedule to give their players a year of game experience.

Led by 18 freshmen, a sophomore and a junior, Concordia received a pair of hat tricks from Alina Boyce who also had an assist for a seven point weekend. Boyce ranks 27th in the country in goals per game (3.0) for a squad that ranks 13th (of 38 reported) in scoring offense. Concordia has assists from 11 different players in two games, partially due to the 14 assists compiled in the 23-0 win over Northland which is the second most assists in a game by a Division II program in the season's early going while the 23 goal game is tied for fourth and just two shy of the DII high (Mount Olive vs Barton, 2/3/17).

Concordia currently leads the country with 34 ground balls per game led by goalie Katie Lottsfeldt with 4.5 per contest. She had eight in the Marian victory which is tied for the single game Division II high while the team's 41 ground balls in the contest are second most by a team. Lottsfeldt ranks sixth among the nation's early season netminders with a 4.8 goals against average and 14th with a .467 save percentage.

The Golden Bears, who featured the fifth-ranked scoring defense in the land (4.0) also have the sixth-ranked scoring margin (+12.5). They've produced one of just two recorded shutouts in the 2017 season, joining Belmont Abbey (vs Barton, 2/11/17).

The defense has been the primary catalyst as CSP ranks second in the country in caused turnovers per game (20.0) led by Brooke Genzler who ranks third nationally (4.0). Genzler's six caused turnover performance against Northland is tied for the fourth most by a player in the nation in the early season and was produced in a game in which CSP had 19 which is the eighth most by a team. In the second game against Marian, CSP racked up the fourth most caused turnovers in a game in DII with 21.

Concordia also ranks nationally in the top-10 in draw controls with 16.0 per game led by junior Kallie LaValle with 5.0 per game to rank eighth in the country. LaValle had seven draw controls in the opener against Northland, 10th most in a game this year nationally while the team had 19 in the game, the seventh highest single game team total.

After Boyce with seven points, Concordia has a pair of players with six points in Maddie Hentges (4g, 2a) and Riley Burns (3g, 3a) while Kaci Reid and LaValle each have five points (3g, 2a each).

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: WESTMINSTER
The Griffins enter their second year in the Rocky Mountain (RMAC) conference in the NCAA Division II women's lacrosse landscape. Last year, Westminster finished 2-9 overall and 2-5 in RMAC play, finishing sixth in the eight team league. The Griffins were slotted in the sixth spot in this year's RMAC Preseason Poll in what has expanded to a 10-team conference for the sport. Concordia will also face the second (#15 Regis) and fifth (CSU-Pueblo) ranked teams in the league's preseason poll. The Griffins return 14 players from 2016 including its five leading point scorers.

The program is led by eighth year head coach Nike Harding who has compiled a 69-46 career record at the helm of the Griffins. In her tenure, she's led Westminster from WCLA Division II to Division I and now the NCAA Division II ranks in the RMAC. Prior to joining the RMAC, Harding led the Griffins to a pair of Rocky Mountain Women's Lacrosse League (RMWLL) championships, a pair of trips to the WCLA National Championships including a third place finish in 2012.

The Griffins opened the season on Saturday on the road, falling 18-8 at Colorado Mesa in a non-conference contest. Westminster fell behind 2-0 in the opening three minutes of play and never led in the contest. Turnovers were costly in the game, as the Griffins faced a 29-19 differential despite an 18-10 edge in the draw control. CMU had a 39-24 edge in shots and 30-19 margin in ground balls while going 18-24 in clears and holding Westminster to just 10-21.

Katie Adams and Madison Ingman each had a pair of goals to lead Westminster's attack while Kira Heiden and Morgan Bakarich each had a goal and an assist for two-point performances. Annelise Prete had four caused turnovers and four ground balls. With her two goal game, Adams has scored a goal in 23 consecutive contests and is coming off a 29-goal season in 2016 when she led the team with 38 points. Heiden's goal gives her 101 in her career, sixth in program history and led the team with 31 goals in 2016. Ingman is coming off a season in which she led the team with 12 assists as a freshman in 2016, recording at least an assist in eight of the 11 games.

The Griffins had three players see time in the cage with Mikala Anderson making eight saves (.444) while starter Taylor Hekking had seven stops (.467) while being tagged for the loss.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: FINDLAY
The Oilers will be playing their season opener on Saturday against Westminster prior to Sunday's tilt with Concordia. Findlay finished 12-8 last season, advancing to the GLIAC championship game for the first time in program history. They were picked fifth in the 2017 GLIAC Preseason Poll after finishing 7-5 in GLIAC play in 2016, good for third in the seven team league. The conference has added a league, expanding to eight teams in 2017. Concordia will also face the third (McKendree), fourth (Indianapolis) and eighth (Northern Michigan twice) ranked teams in the GLIAC this season.

Second Team All-GLIAC selection Kyra Bradley, a senior, is the team's top returner with 55 goals and 70 points last season. She was the 2015 GLIAC Attacker of the Year and an All-GLIAC First Team performer and has netted 189 career goals for the Oilers. Junior Olivia Sherman also returns after scoring 26 goals in 2016 while junior Natalie Fury is the top defensive returner after being an All-GLIAC Second Team performer as a sophomore. All-GLIAC honorable mention pick Hannah Peebles also returners, a 30-point producer last year as a freshman.

Three of the four goalies who saw time in the cage last year return, with Rachel Heath (16 GP, 10.7 GAA, .392 pct) and Brooke Eicher (11 GP, 13.0 GAA, .384 pct) entering their junior campaigns.

Findlay's program was founded in 2012 with the Oilers posting a 34-41 all-time record with an improving win total each season after a 6-12 inaugural year. The Oilers have enjoyed more success in GLIAC play with a 21-14 all-time conference record.