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Tough sledding: Without most experienced player, Wildcats lacrosse team faces uphill battle in GLIAC

Northern Michigan University’s Angelica Bogden, middle, fights off a pair of Indianapolis defenders behind the Grayhounds’ net during the first half Sunday at the Superior Dome in Marquette. (Journal photo by Ray Bressette)

“We need to remember our fundamentals and everything that makes us a good team.” — Emilia Ward, NMU lacrosse coach, on the Wildcats’ final push toward making the GLIAC tournament

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MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University women’s lacrosse team is continuing to learn just how challenging competing in the GLIAC can be.

The Wildcats dropped their sixth straight match Sunday afternoon in a 26-3 loss to fourth-place Indianapolis at the Superior Dome. It was Northern’s first home match in more than six weeks and left NMU at 2-11 overall and 0-5 in GLIAC matches.

NMU head coach Emilia Ward said it took the Wildcats a few plays to get back into the groove of things on their home field.

“We came out a little sluggish in terms of defense,” Ward said. “We weren’t as physical as we have been on the road, and once we addressed that, we started to be more competitive.

“We knew this was going to be a tough contest with Indianapolis’ attackers and tough defense, and we started to come together as the game went along.”

A silver lining in the loss was the performance from redshirt freshman Graison Ringlever, who transferred to NMU from Indianapolis last offseason and stuck it to her former team with two goals.

“She had a little more invested in this game,” Ward said of Ringlever’s performance. “Our job as a coaching staff was to keep her at level so she wouldn’t do too much. She moved at a fast pace which created a lot more holes for her offensively.”

The Greyhounds, who improved to 10-4 overall and 3-2 in the GLIAC with the win, got off to a fast start, scoring four goals less than three minutes into the game on Wildcat goalie Brianna Bangle.

After a timeout by Ward, the Wildcats responded four minutes later with a goal from the corner of the net by Blair Osgood, her sixth score of the year.

Ward said her team had a different mindset after the timeout that led to the goal.

“I reminded them to be physical defensively,” Ward said. “I told them to keep their feet moving, and that’s when we’re a successful defense that makes life harder on their defense. That gave us a few more possessions and chances to get down the field.”

But the Greyhounds never let up, scoring 11 more goals before halftime while the only Wildcat who could find the back of the net was Ringlever midway through the half.

Hannah Priddy scored five goals in the first half for Indianapolis while teammate Anna Rulapaugh added four.

Rulapaugh continued the surge for the Greyhounds into the second half, scoring her fifth goal just 1:11 in. Indianapolis tacked on 10 more goals by the end, while Ringlever earned her 20th goal of the season with just under five minutes remaining.

Sunday’s loss was the fourth straight game for NMU without sophomore Shelby Klotz, who has been sidelined with a concussion and was the only Wildcat with NCAA Division II lacrosse experience heading into their inaugural season.

Klotz remains her team’s scoring leader with 26 goals.

Ward said the team is continuing to find their rhythm without their sophomore leader.

“We have some girls who have picked up the slack and got us a few extra possessions,” Ward said. “But we’re hoping we can get her back sometime this week to help us in the final weekend.

“We’ll re-evaluate her (today), but we don’t want to rush her back and risk losing her for next season, too.”

Though the Wildcats sit at the bottom of the GLIAC standings, their playoff hopes are still alive heading into their final week of the regular season as they’re just one game behind Lake Erie (1-2) for the sixth and final qualifying spot for the conference tournament.

And the Wildcats host the two immediate teams in front of them in the standings to close out the campaign, facing Walsh at 6 p.m. Friday and Lake Erie at noon Sunday.

Ward said her team is feeling positive about their playoff chances.

“The big thing is we got out of (Sunday’s) game without injuries,” Ward said. “Walsh will be a good test for us to see where we are at and what we’re going to be able to do with the season.

“We need to remember our fundamentals and everything that makes us a good team.”

Freshman Leiss Luyckx said she and her teammates know what they need to do if they’re going to come out victorious and punch their ticket to the tournament in their inaugural season.

“We need to work on moving the ball around and being there for each other to get easier passes,” Luyckx said. “We’ve played a lot of hard teams on the road, so it feels good to be back home to end the season with high stakes, and we’re prepared moving forward.”

Ray Bressette can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251. His email address is rbressette@miningjournal.net.

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