GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Northern Michigan women's lacrosse team (8-3, 2-1 GLIAC) used a dominant second half to put away the Davenport Panthers (7-4, 2-1 GLIAC) by a margin of 14-6 on Sunday.

Josie Lakosky led the way on offense with seven goals on the day while Avery Lorinser scored a hat trick of her own. Vanessa Carrico also scored a pair of goals with Hannah Grimm and Abby Sisson each adding one to round out the scoring. 

Lakosky would also lead all players in both ground balls (7) and draw controls (5) while tying for a game-high two caused turnovers defensively. Carrico, Evita Weiche, and Krista Pascavis also caused two turnovers each.

The play of Lauren Esposito helped her team persevere through an opening quarter that saw Davenport win four of five draw controls by stopping four shots that came in her direction. However, the Wildcats turned it around by winning five of six draw controls in the second 15 minutes of action, and the scoreboard reflected that advantage. The Wildcats ultimately won the draw control battle by a margin of 13-10.

Esposito finished the day with eight saves and a save percentage of .571 to secure the win between the pipes.

The Wildcats successfully cleared the ball on 25 of 26 attempts while forcing eight failed clears for the Panthers (16-24).

How it happened
Both teams battled early with Davenport striking first as Jade Remacle scored the opening goal of the game, but Josie Lakosky responded to tie up the score on NMU's next possession. Each team would score once more during the opening 15 minutes of action as Avery Lorinser got involved with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter to knot up the score at 2-2. 

Lakosky wasted no time taking advantage of Davenport penalties from the closing seconds of the first quarter, finding the back of the net to give the 'Cats their first lead of the day on the man-up advantage. The Panthers responded less than a minute later as Bird tied up the score at 3-3, but Vanessa Carrico found Abby Sisson who put her team back in front. Lakosky would then go on to score again for her 50th goal of the season off of a feed from Hannah Jabas to extend the lead to 5-3. Carrico continued the NMU run by capitalizing on a free-position opportunity, but the Panthers were able to score on a free-position shot of their own to pull back within two going into the halftime break. 

The Wildcats were able to extend the lead to 9-4 during the third period of action. Lorinser converted on a free-position shot midway through the quarter, and Lakosky would score on back-to-back possessions to put NMU firmly in control of the match. 

NMU was able to extend their second half scoring run to 6-0 with goals from Hannah Grimm, Lakosky, and Lorinser before the Panthers recorded their first score of the second half with just under four minutes to play. Carrico and Lakosky would quickly add one more each to extend the lead to seven. Davenport managed to tack on another goal with just under two minutes to play, but it was too little too late as the Wildcats came away with the 14-6 decision when the clock struck zero. 

Up next
The Wildcats will now return home to host the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday, April 4 with the first draw scheduled for 12 p.m.