ST. PAUL, Minn. - The NMU women's lacrosse team rounded out the regular season on a high note, downing the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 11-5.

The 'Cats end the regular season with 13-4 overall and 4-2 GLIAC marks, the best regular season record in program history while matching the 4-2 conference record from last season. The 'Cats go into the postseason with wins in four of the last five games. 

Cat Nips

• Minnie Bittell led the Wildcats, reaching the 300 career point plateau with four goals and four assists for eight points to go along with three draw controls on the evening
  • This marks her 10th time this season scoring 4+ goals, her 5th time registering 8+ points, and 3rd time recording 4+ assists
• Kaitlyn Bridger notched a hat-trick with a last-minute free position attempt, giving her 34 goals on the season
  • Her 5th instance this season scoring three or more goals
• Molly Ruhland recorded a career-high four draw controls to go with her one ground ball
• The trio of Natalie Thomas, Olivia Rose, and Madi Bast led the 'Cats with three ground balls each
• Lauren Esposito made 11 saves on 16 shots for a .688 SV%
  • Her saves and SV% are all second-highest of her career
• The 'Cats led in most of the major statistical categories, including shots (34-23), shots on goal (21-16), FPS (6-0), ground balls (24-20)
• NMU finishes the regular season with similar home and away records, going 7-2 at home and 6-2 on the road

How It Happened
After a 15-minute delay to start the match, the 'Cats were able to jump out to an early lead as Bittell netted the opening goal just 42 seconds in. It took 10 minutes of game time and four shots on target, the Golden Bears were able to sneak one past Esposito after she made three saves prior. The 'Cats answered back just 40 seconds later, as Bridger scored off an assist from Bittell; this assist gave Bittell 300 career points in her time at NMU. 

The 'Cats closed out the first quarter with a two-goal lead before firing home three straight to take a 6-1 lead. The Golden Bears would get one back late in the frame, but the 'Cats would hold a comfortable four-goal lead thanks to a three-goal and two-assist half from Bittell. 

The second half started the same way the first half did, as the 'Cats opened the scoring and extending their led just 45 seconds into the third. This time a goal from Stanton, assisted by Bridger. It was a back-and-forth third quarter, as the 'Cats scored three to two in the third frame, capped off by a goal from Lakosky with two minutes left.

The first goal from either team came seven minutes in, as CSP did what they could to attempt to cut into the lead, but goals from Bittell and Bridger officially put the game to rest, winning 11-5. 

Up Next
The 'Cats will travel for the GLIAC tournament next weekend, starting on Friday, May 3rd.