MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University women's lacrosse team fell to Grand Valley State University 19-9 Friday evening in the first of a two-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series.

The Lakers scored the first three goals of the game to pull ahead in the early going. Clara Johnson put a stop to the run with her first goal as a Wildcat with an assist from Madeline Bittell at 24:31. NMU pulled within one when Emily Renfrew was able to find the back of the net 23 seconds later. 

GVSU put two more goals on the board after the Wildcat run. Jessica Daniels got her first goal of the game, assisted by Bittell, to bring NMU back within two.

Two minutes later, at 19:16, a Lakers' 3-0 run made the score 8-3. The Wildcats followed that run with two goals. Daniels notched her second goal followed by Bittell with her first of the contest. 

A 3-0 run for GVSU to end the half sent the teams into the break with the Lakers up 11-5. 

The run for the visiting team continued into the second half as they notched three straight goals to begin the frame.

NMU answered with back-to-back goals. The first was an unassisted goal from Kaitlyn Bridger and the second was a free position goal from Daniels. 

GVSU scored three straight after that to go up 17-7. The teams exchanged four total goals after the final run, with the Wildcat goals coming from Daniels in a man-up situation and an unassisted Katelyn Mongold, to end with a 19-9 score in favor of the Lakers.

Daniels scored a team-high four goals for NMU and also lead the team in shots with five. Bridger, Renfrew, Bittell, Mongold, and Johnson each had one goal. 

Bittell led the Wildcats in assists with two while Mongold added one. 

Lauryn Rygiel scooped up a game-high four ground balls. Aleya Speas, Nicole Smith, Bridger, and Johnson had one each for NMU.

The Wildcats had three student-athletes cause one turnover each. Bridger, Shannon Walus, and Rygiel earned the defensive tallies.

Goalkeeper Cam Stilson played the full game for NMU and collected 10 saves.

The Wildcats finish the regular season at home this Sunday on Senior Day. Grand Valley State and NMU will face off at 12 p.m. in the Superior Dome.