Northern Michigan Wildcats Women's Lacrosse Stadium | Northern Michigan University Athletics
Northern Michigan Wildcats Women's Lacrosse Stadium | Northern Michigan University Athletics
The NMU Wildcats lacrosse team faced a setback on their current road trip with a defeat by the No. 22/15 ranked Grand Valley State Lakers. The final score was 11-4, marking the first time in six years that the NMU squad was held scoreless in an opening half of play.
For Northern Michigan University (NMU), goals came from Maddi Bast, Taylor Priestley, and Josie Lakosky, who contributed two. In the net, Zoe Montgomery and Lauren Esposito split duties. Montgomery tallied four saves from 12 shots on target while Esposito stopped six of nine shots.
The Grand Valley State (GVSU) Lakers’ Kendra Swope led her team with four goals and an assist. The Lakers’ goalkeepers performed well with Kaylyn Carter making seven saves in the first half, keeping a clean sheet including four free-position saves. Sarah Krause recorded nine saves, ending with a .692 save percentage.
The Lakers outpaced NMU in shots, with a tally of 31 to the Wildcats' 25, shots on goal (20-13), and ground balls (23-18). The Wildcats did manage fewer turnovers, only giving up possession 10 times compared to GVSU's 17, and doubled the Lakers in caused turnovers.
The NMU Wildcats will conclude their regular season road schedule against Davenport on Sunday, April 13 at noon ET.
The Wildcats began the match with defensive momentum, forcing a shot clock violation on the Lakers’ opening possession. However, the Lakers took charge quickly with Swope scoring early and establishing a 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. This marked a significant performance, as NMU had not been held scoreless in an opening quarter since March 24, 2023, against Indianapolis.
As the game progressed, NMU struggled to find the net, remaining scoreless throughout the first half. This is the first time since April 18, 2019, against Indianapolis, that the team failed to score in the first half of a game. Despite this, the Wildcats continued to press on, managing to break their drought with Bast scoring in the third quarter. Priestley and Lakosky also added goals in the final quarter, bringing the Wildcats’ tally to four by the end of the game.
The Lakers' defense proved formidable throughout the matchup as the Wildcats encountered challenges breaking through solid goalkeeping and defensive strategies.
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