KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the first road game of the season that lasted over two and a half hours due to a weather delay, the Northern Michigan lacrosse team fell short to the Rockhurst Hawks 12-11, falling to 5-2 on the young campaign.

The Wildcats led 11-8 early in the fourth quarter, but the Hawks closed the contest with the last four including the game-winner with 70 seconds left to complete the comeback. NMU had one last attempt to tie it with 40 seconds left, but the shot sailed wide. 

Minnie Bittell led the way with four goals and a pair of helpers for NMU, continuing her top-five national scoring pace with 31 tallies this season. Freshman Natalie Thomas scored her first career goal while co-leading the team with two ground balls. Rockhurst's Reagan Danner scored four times while Mae Beins had 10 stops in net. 
 

How it Happened
Northern struggled to establish the offensive zone early in its first road game, as seven first quarter turnovers and a pair of goals from RU's Reagan Danner put the Hawks up 2-0 early. After five minutes of settling in, the 'Cats flipped the script, scoring the last four of the quarter from Laine Stanton, Abby Sisson, and a pair from Minnie Bittell. Rockhurst committed six turnovers, all coming after NMU's first tally, as Northern held a 4-2 lead after one. 

The defenses picked it up yet another notch in the second with NMU scoring three to two from Rockhurst. Bittell scored two more for the Green and Gold while freshman Natalie Thomas collected her first career goal on a free-position shot in the closing seconds to send the 'Cats into intermission with a 7-4 lead.

After a nearly 45-minute halftime due to a weather delay, Rockhurst got on the board just 14 seconds in and that seemed to set the tone for the penultimate quarter as they scored four of the first five to even the score at 8's, but Josie Lakosky scored twice in response for NMU. Sisson also picked up her second of the game in the quarter to help Northern lead 10-8 heading to the fourth.

Kaitlyn Bridger extended the lead to 11-8 to open the final frame, but three straight from the Hawks once again evened the scoreboard with 4:20 to play. With 1:10 left, RU's Mackenzie Blair scored her third of the game to secure the 12-11 comeback victory for the Hawks.


Up Next
The second game of the three-match GLVC swing in Missouri will take place in Liberty as the Wildcats contend with the William Jewell Cardinals on Wednesday, March 6 at 5 p.m. ET.