ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #2 seed Concordia-St. Paul women's lacrosse team is set to play the #3 seed Wildcats of Northern Michigan in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals May. 2 at the GVSU Lacrosse Stadium in Allendale, Mich. Action will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The GLIAC Tournament is scheduled for its semifinal and championship rounds to take place on the campus of the highest seed. Grand Valley clinched the regular season title and will serve as host.
The Golden Bears have clinched the No. 2 seed, marking their highest seed placement to date along with their highest conference finish and will look to make their mark in the GLIAC Tournament.
RECAP OF THE WEEK
Game One: NMU 8, CSP 7
The Navy and Gold fell 8-7 to the Wildcats in their regular-season finale at the Superior Dome.
Six players found the net in the loss including Sara Kaiser with a pair of goals to mark her sixth multi-goal game of the season and an assist to record three points.
It was a close game through the entirety, with each team tallying 22 ground balls and both teams scoring on their man-up opportunities.
Katie Colleran got her 11th start of the season in the net where she made nine saves to bring her season total to 93.
Natalie Brownfield led the defense forcing three caused turnovers and collecting three ground balls.
Susie Monson added seven draw controls, two ground balls and three caused turnovers to help lead the Golden Bears.
Both teams saw an even matchup with the Wildcats holding the shot-advantage 23-19 while making 15 on goal and Golden Bears holding the 13-5 draw control advantage.
RECORD WATCH
Anna Fisher is nine goals away from breaking the single-season record for goals, eight goals would tie the record. She is 11 shots attempted and five shots on goal away from breaking both single-season records.
Susie Monson is 12 points away and nine draw controls from breaking the single-season record in both categories.
Katie Colleran is 19 ground balls away from breaking the single-season record.
As a team, the Golden Bears currently lead the GLIAC in caused turnovers per game (10.5) and women-down goals per game (.31).
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 (10-7, 4-4 GLIAC) after their regular-season finale win over the Golden Bears.
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 astonishing 66.
HISTORY BETWEEN CSP AND NMU
The two programs have met a total of 18 times dating back to March 7, 2017 where CSP earned the 13-10 victory.
The Wildcats hold the 10-8 all-time record against Concordia after winning seven out of the last eight meetings.
Last season, the two teams met three times including the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals where they 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.
Last week, in a highly-competitive match Northern Michigan earned a close 8-7 win on their home turf to split the season series with the Golden Bears.
HISTORY AT THE GLIAC TOURNAMENT & INFORMATION
The GLIAC Tournament consists of two semifinals played on Friday and a championship game on Sunday between the two winners of the semifinals, all on the campus of regular season champion Grand Valley State. The top-seeded Lakers will play fourth-seeded Davenport prior to the CSP-NMU semifinal on Friday. The semifinal winners will play on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) / 12 p.m. (ET).
Tournament host Grand Valley State has captured the last four GLIAC Tournament Championships and has won 12 GLIAC regular season championships in a row dating back to the start of GLIAC lacrosse in 2019, only sharing the regular season crown once in 2017 with McKendree (now in the GLVC).
The Golden Bears are making their fifth appearance in the GLIAC Tournament, holding a 1-4 all-time postseason record. Concordia earns their first No. 2 seed after securing the No. 3 seed the last two three seasons. In 2019, the Navy and Gold made the program's first-ever GLIAC Tournament appearance as the No. 4 seed, CSP hosted a quarterfinal round game where they defeated No. 5 seed Davenport at Sea Foam Stadium.
Last season, the No. 3 Navy and Gold fell to the Wildcats of No. 2 Northern Michigan in the tournament semifinals 15-6.
GOLDEN BEARS VS. THE FIELD
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
All-time series: NMU leads 10-8
NSIC Tournament History: Northern Michigan leads 2-0
GRAND VALLEY STATE
All-time series: GVSU leads 14-0
NSIC Tournament History: N/A
DAVENPORT
All-time series: CSP leads 11-5
NSIC Tournament History: Series tied 1-1
