Regulation time wasn’t enough, as the Northern Michigan Women’s Lacrosse team took the Wheeling Jesuit University Cardinals to triple overtime in Beverly Hills last weekend. The scoreboard fell in favor of the Cardinals however, as NMU lost 14-13.

“We showed a lot of growth,” coach Amilia Ward said. “They were a team that beat us by almost 10 goals last year. So to bridge that gap and have a shot to win it, showed the development of our freshmen.”

The young freshmen were the key for NMU in the game, registering 11 out of 13 goals for the Wildcats.

Freshman attack/midfielder Emily Dvorak scored four goals, while fellow freshmen teammates midfielder/attack Ellie Bahr and midfielder Graison Ringlever both added three more.
Freshman goal-keeper Emily Karboum started in net for the Wildcats for the second game in a row and did her job, keeping the score within reach.

“The sky’s the limit with them,” Ward said. “Each game, we don’t quite know what we’re going to get, so the biggest thing for us is to get them prepared for each game moving forward.”
This is NMU lacrosse’s second season as a varsity sport and they’re already noticing a change from last season’s 2-13 team. Both wins a season ago were landslide victories, with a 18-1 win over Northland University and a 22-10 thumping of Notre Dame (OH).

However, the landslide victories were overshadowed by excruciating loses. The Wildcats were outscored 168-25 in an eight-game stretch to close the season.

That’s not the case for NMU this season. Despite their first two losses this season, including an exhibition lose to Albion University, the Wildcats have been able to keep the score close up to the final whistle.

“Early on in the season, we’re just looking for everyone to improve,” said Ward. “We want them to be confident on the field.”

Confidence should be high for the Wildcats as they look forward to their next game against the Lindenwood University Lions. Lindenwood owns a 4-0 record to start the season and is currently ranked third in the IWLCA division II polls.

“It’s a great test for our young program,” said Ward on playing at Lindenwood. “The biggest thing for us is for them to believe they can compete with them, and go out and get as much out of that game as we can.”