ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's lacrosse team (9-6, 5-2 GLIAC) will head to Marquette, Mich. to face the Wildcats of Northern Michigan on Saturday in their regular-season finale. Action will start at 11 a.m. CT in the Superior Dome.
The Golden Bears will look to earn their best GLIAC record since the 2019 season after locking up their best conference finish to date.
RECAP OF THE WEEK
Game One: CSP 20, SVSU 2
The Navy and Gold scored a season-high 20 goals to rout the Cardinals of Saginaw Valley State 20-2.
The Golden Bears 20 goals scored is the most over a Division II school since a 24-1 victory over Upper Iowa back in 2022.
A season-high 14 players found the net in the win including Paige Nicklaus and Claire Flahaven who scored their first goals of the season.
Cayla Jungwirth led the Navy and Gold with three goals and two assists marking her second hat-trick of the season.
Kayleigh Nelson, Anna Fisher, Maddie Westberg and Kennedy Bolander each scored a pair of goals to add to their season totals.
Joining the scoring party was Sara Kaiser, Susie Monson, Shelby Hansen, Kaci Kotschevar, Jenna Hamann, Kaysawn Carlson and Erin Chartier who each added one for the Golden Bears.
Katie Colleran got her 10th start of the season in the net where she made two saves to bring her season total to 84 and earn the win. Erika Holm came in to start the second half, making three saves.
It was a team game from start to finish with eight players recording an assist including Monson with three to bring her season total to 28.
Flahaven led the team in ground balls with five while Jungwirth tallied three caused turnovers to lead the defense.
Concordia controlled each aspect of the game recording 42 shots to Saginaw's 10. CSP would win 18 of the 25 draw controls while forcing 25 turnovers.
CSP went a perfect 11-11 on clear attempts and recorded 31 ground balls to cap a picture-perfect day on the field.
SEASON LEADERS
Susie Monson continues to lead the GLIAC in total assists (28), assists per game (1.87) and draw controls per game (5.20). Both Monson's total assists and assists per game rank 36th in NCAA DII.
Anna Fisher currently ranks second in the GLIAC in four categories including shots on goal per game (5.13), shots per game (7.07), goals per game (3) and total goals (45).
Freshman Goalkeeper Katie Colleran ranks second in the GLIAC in ground balls per game (4.25), total saves (84) and saves per game (7). Her 4.25 ground balls per game rank sixth in NCAA DII.
Claire Flahaven ranks second in the GLIAC in caused turnovers per game with 1.46.
As a team, the Golden Bears lead the conference in assists per game (6.13), caused turnovers per game (10.27) and points per game (18.07). The Navy and Gold's 21.2 ground balls per game rank 22nd in NCAA DII.
SEASON OUTLOOK
With just one regular-season game left to play, the Golden Bears have clinched a spot in the GLIAC Conference Tournament and locked up their highest conference finish to date in second place.
With a win on Saturday, CSP can move to 6-2 in conference play which would be their GLIAC record since the 2019 season where they finished 7-4.
With the top-two spots clinched in the GLIAC, CSP will head to Allendale, Mich. for the conference tournament. Grand Valley State won their 14th straight regular-season title and will serve at the tournament's host.
The two semifinal games will be played on May 2 with the winners advancing to the championship game on May 4. Northern Michigan and Davenport round out the four advancing teams with seeding to be determined at the conclusion of regular-season play.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Northern Michigan posted a (14-5, 4-2 GLIAC) record in the 2024 season and were picked to finish second in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 13 points after reaching their second consecutive GLIAC Tournament Championship game.
The Wildcats currently sit at (9-7, 3-4 GLIAC) after splitting the past week, topping Saginaw Valley State 20-2 and falling to Davenport 11-9.
Leading the Wildcats is attack Josie Lakowsky who is the reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year and currently leads the conference in goals per game, points per game, shots per game and total goals with an impressive 63.
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND NMU
The two programs have met a total of 17 times dating back to March 7, 2017 where CSP earned the 13-10 victory.
The Wildcats just barely hold the 9-8 all-time record against Concordia after winning six of the last seven meetings. The Golden Bears will look to even the score on Saturday.
Last season, the two teams met three times including the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals where the Wildcats got the 15-6 victory. During the regular season, NMU outscored CSP 32-17.
Earlier this season, the Golden Bears were victorious over the Wildcats earning their first win since April 13, 2022. The Navy and Gold topped NMU 13-9 in a packed Concordia Dome led by Susie Monson and Anna Fisher who combined for eight goals and goalkeeper Katie Colleran who made 11 saves.
