From NMU Sports Information

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University lacrosse team on Sunday took on the Grand Valley State University Lakers in the Superior Dome, falling 23-10.

Kaitlyn Bridger led in goals with three and Maddi Bast was right behind with two. Minnie Bittell had three assists, which was the most for the Wildcats. Hannah Melander was able to make seven saves against the Lakers, compared to GVSU’s Kaylyn Carter who saved two and Audrey Maloney who made one.

Despite the Lakers striking first, Dayna Carlson was able to tie up the score, making it her 11th goal of the season. Bittell added another point for the Wildcats which was followed by another Laker goal. Bast put the ‘Cats back in the lead with her 32nd goal of the season. Another Grand Valley netting knotted the score once again and they would tack on five more before first quarter ended with the Wildcats trailing by five at 8-3.

Katelyn Mongold made the first goal of the second quarter, putting her at 26 goals this season. Following her strike were two more Laker goals which put NMU behind by six. NMU’s Bridger added another tally to the score, and the Lakers found one more before the end of the first half. The Lakers led the score by six at 11-5 as they headed into halftime.

The Wildcats kicked off the second half with a goal from Bridger. A Laker goal happened soon after which was reciprocated by Carlson scoring her second goal of the day through a free position shot. Two more goals were made by GVSU before Bridger earned her hat trick. Bast came back for her second goal which was returned with one made by the Lakers. The third quarter came to a close with the Lakers up by seven at a score of 16-9.

The fourth quarter was filled with goals made by GVSU, with three of them happening in the first three minutes. The Wildcats were able to get one point in with Bittell earning her 45th goal of the season. Four more goals were scored by the Lakers before the game ended with the ‘Cats falling short by 13 points with a final score of 23-10.

On Friday, locked in a 8-8 tie in the fourth quarter against Davenport University, Northern Michigan lacrosse picked up the offense and put down the clamps on defense, scoring the final five goals of the contest for a 13-8 victory. The ‘Cats improved to 10-5 on the season, setting a new benchmark for most wins in program history.

Kaitlyn Bridger led the offensive attack with a hat trick while Danielle Key, Kate Mongold, and Maddi Bast each scored twice. Hannah Melander was stellar in net, stopping 9/17 shots sent her way for a .529 SV%.

It was a slow start to the game with only two goals scored by each team in the opening 15 mintes. The first was made by Lauryn Rygiel with an assist by Minnie Bittell. Davenport’s Theadora Kreuger reciprocated with one of her own minutes later. Katelyn Mongold scored her 24th goal of the season with Maddi Bast’s help to regain the lead. One last score was made by Davenport, knotting the score at two to end the first quarter.

The little game of cat and mouse continued through the second quarter with Dayna Carlson striking first through a free-position shot. The Panthers followed up with their own point and added another soon after, jumping up by one at 4-3. Danielle Key rushed across the field and hit back-to-back shots earning the ‘Cats the lead. This was followed by Bittell’s free position shot, earning her 43 goals this season. The Wildcats ended the first half with a 6-4 lead.

After two more points acquired by the Panthers to tie, Taylor Priestley found her 16th goal of the season with the help of Kaitlyn Bridger, which was followed by Madi Bast netting her 31st as NMU went back up by a pair. One more tally was made by DU before the third quarter horn sounded with NMU up a goal at 8-7.

The first goal of the final quarter was made by the Panthers, knotting the score once again. Not too long after, Bridger found her first goal of the game. NMU broke the 8-8 deadlock with five straight tallies to close the contest, with three coming from Kaitlyn Bridger, and one each from Kate Mongold and Dayna Carlson.

NMU will compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinals on Friday. The Wildcats finished the regular season 10-6.