Lacrosse Picks Up Record-Breaking Win Over Eagles

Courtesy: NMU

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University women’s lacrosse set the program record for most wins in a season when they clinched their fifth win of 2021 with a 19-5 win against Ashland University in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Friday tilt.

Aleya Speas notched the first goal of the game, assisted by Madeline Bittell,  just 34 seconds into the action. It was the first goal in a 6-0 NMU run.

Jessica Daniels was the next to score for the Wildcats, just 20 seconds later. Emily Renfrew put one into the net to up the NMU advantage to 3-0.

Bittell added back-to-back goals to the Wildcat cause before a Speas free position shot capped off the six-goal run.

The Eagles put their first goal on the board around three minutes later, but NMU was able to answer back with another run.

Katelyn Mongold scored three consecutive goals over 5:48 of game time to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 9-1. To make the one-woman run more impressive NMU was a man-down for the first goal.

Ashland secured another goal at the 9:10 mark, but a goal for the Wildcats from Daniels followed by two Renfew goals killed any shot of the Eagles gaining any momentum. A late first-half Ashland goal sent the teams into the half with NMU up 12-3.

Less than five minutes into the second half Daniels found the back of the net for the Wildcats yet again to set a running clock. The goal set NMU running yet again as three goals followed. Bittell added an unassisted goal to the run while Daniels scored another goal with help from a Speas assist. Shannon Walus closed out the run with a goal assisted by Mongold.

The Eagles notched a free position shot to move to score to 16-4. Tess Kostelec put her name in the scoring column for the Wildcats with a goal assisted by Lauryn Rygiel.

Ashland scored its final goal at the 8:13 mark. NMU closed out the game with two final goals. Jane Taylor scored her first goal as a Wildcat at 6:25 and Mongold beat the buzzer and scored the final goal of the 19-5 win with one second left.

Both Mongold and Daniels led in scoring for NMU with four goals each. Bittell and Renfrew each had hat-tricks for the Wildcats. Speas was next with two goals and was followed by Kostelec, Walus, and Taylor with one goal each.

Four different members of the NMU team each dished out one assist. Speas, Bittell, Mongold, and Rygiel shared the ball well.

Bittell, Speas, and goalie Cam Stilson picked up two ground balls each for the Wildcats.

A new single-game draw control record was set in the game by Bittell. Her 17 broke the program record of 11 she tied in her last outing.

Stilson and Aliyah Smukala each spent 30 minutes of game time as the keeper for NMU. Stilson notched six saves while Smukala had nine.

As a team, the Wildcats outshot the Eagles 36-27. NMU also earned the advantage in draw controls (17-8), ground balls (17-16), and saves (15-8).

The Wildcats return to action against the Eagles on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. inside the Superior Dome.