NORTH CANTON, Ohio - After trailing by a goal heading into halftime, the NMU women's lacrosse team came out and scored four goals in the third quarter while holding Walsh to just one goal in the final half to win 8-6.

After a back-and-forth opening 30 minutes that saw both teams trade goals and exchange leads, the Wildcats jumped on the Cavaliers with four goals to one in the third quarter before shutting it down for the final frame, only allowing one goal in the final 25 minutes and the entire second half.

Josie Lakosky led the 'Cats with two goals and two assists while posting career-highs in shots on goal, ground balls, and caused turnovers. Her five ground balls and five caused turnovers are also team-highs for the 2024 season.

The 'Cats now improve to 8-2 overall, and the Cavaliers drop to 5-4 overall.

Cat Nips

• Josie Lakosky had herself an evening, scoring two goals with two assists. Lakosy has now scored two or more goals in eight of her nine games played and has recorded four or more points on four separate occasions
  • Lakosky was dominant on both sides of the ball, leading the field in shots and shots on goal (7), ground balls (5), and caused turnovers (5). This is her first time this season with three or more caused turnovers, and her second time collecting five ground balls. 
• Minnie Bittell was held to just one goal and one assist for two points on seven shots. 
  • Bittell had scored two or more goals in her previous 12 consecutive games. This marks the first time she's been held to two or fewer points since 3/24/23 (19 games ago)
• Laine Stanton scored twice, bringing her goal total to 13 on the year, Avery Lorinser notched her third multi-goal game, and Kaitlyn Bridger added a goal and assist to bring her season point totals to 26
• Goalie Lauren Esposito made seven saves from 13 shots on target, her fifth time making seven-plus saves
• The 'Cats heavily outshot the 'Cavs 32-17, committed six fewer turnovers, and caused 11 Walsh turnovers
• The 'Cats are now 3-1 on the road and have held their opponents to six or fewer goals on five separate occasions

How It Happened
It was a back-and-forth first half, as neither team held more than one goal lead throughout the first two frames. Goals came from Stanton, Lakosky (x2), and Bridger had the Wildcats within one goal going into halftime, as the 'Cats trailed by a score of 4-5.

NMU came out of the halftime break on a tear, out-scoring the Cavaliers 4-1 in the third frame, including a last-second goal from Bittell, to give the green and gold an 8-6 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of play. 

Neither team found the back of the net in the final quarter, and a good mix of defense and stopes from Esposito helped guide the 'Cats to its eighth win of the season. 

Up Next
The 'Cats round out their road trip to Ohio with a matchup against Ashland on Sunday, March 24 at 12 PM