ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's lacrosse team (6-10, 3-5 GLIAC) fell 15-7 to the Wildcats of Northern Michigan (12-5, 6-2 GLIAC) inside the Concordia Dome on Sunday afternoon in their regular-season finale
The game marked senior day for seven student-athletes, Kayleigh Nelson, Susie Monson, Anna Palony, Sydney Smith, Claire Flahaven, Natalie Brownfield and Morgan Haapala who have left an outstanding mark on the program.
Leading the offensive attack for the Golden Bears was Susie Monson and Shelby Hansen who combined for four goals and Jayde Isaacson who added two assists.
It was a tight first quarter that saw Northern Michigan take an early two goal lead before Concordia fought right back with two of their own from Sydney Smith and Hansen.
With the score tied at 2-2, a five-goal run from the Wildcats would see the game's momentum shift and leave the Navy and Gold with a big hole to come back from. A goal from Shelby Marik with 3:30 left to play in the second quarter would cut into the NMU lead.
A back-and-forth third quarter saw CSP get within three after a goal from Alayna Roehl, her 23rd of the season. The Wildcats ended the third quarter on a 3-0 run to take a 10-4 lead into the final quarter.
Northern Michigan's defense never showed a sign of slowing down and had an answer for many of the Navy and Gold's scoring chances. Another score for the Wildcats to start the fourth quarter saw their lead extend 11-4.
A late spark from Monson and Hansen would get the Golden Bears back within reach but the Wildcats put together a 4-0 run to put the chance of a comeback out of the door for CSP. A final minute goal from Monson would end the game in favor of NMU 15-7.
Junior goaltenders Marge Lucio and Erika Holm each split time in net today, Lucio made seven saves in the first half before Holm came in for second half relief where she made three saves.
Senior Claire Flahaven led the defensive effort with two caused turnovers and four ground balls. She ends the regular-season with 32 caused turnovers and 41 ground balls.
Both teams were competitive in front of the goal but the Wildcats were able to capitalize on the scoring and out shot the Golden Bears 25-20 on goal.
The Golden Bears forced 16 turnovers from the Wildcats but did not see a successful game at the draw, winning just seven of the 24 attempts.
The Golden Bears will look to the postseason and have clinched their spot in the 2026 GLIAC Lacrosse Tournament and will face the Wildcats for the fourth straight season in the semifinal round. The tournament will consist of the top-four teams with the No.1 seed facing the No. 4 and No. 2 meeting No. 3. The winners of the semifinals will meet in the championship game.
Dates are set for May 1 & 3 and will take place on the campus of Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich. as the Lakers have clinched the regular-season title.
