Michigan women's lacrosse KOs CMU in NCAA tournament to get rematch with Northwestern
Will the 15th time be the charm for the Michigan women’s lacrosse team?
The Wolverines rolled over Central Michigan, 13-6, in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois, as Jill Smith scored three times before the half. That sets up a second-round rematch with No. 1 overall seed Northwestern at noon Sunday.
The Wolverines have never beaten the Wildcats in 14 tries over their 10 seasons as a varsity program. That includes a 16-8 drubbing in March, an 18-11 loss in the Big Ten tournament earlier this month and a 15-12 loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament last year.
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On Friday, CMU’s Audrey Whiteside, the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, opened the scoring 3:32 into the match with an unassisted goal; it was her 35th this season and 100th of her career. U-M needed less than a minute to respond, however, as Jane Fetterolf evened it with her 14th goal this season, 40 seconds later. The Wolverines took the lead for good a little under four minutes later, as Smith scored the first of her four goals Friday (bringing her to 63 on the season), and U-M scored the next nine goals to take a commanding 10-1 lead before the half.
Fetterolf added a goal and two assists, and Erin Garvey had a pair of goals as Michigan outpaced the Chips with 21 shots on goal to CMU’s 13 on the afternoon. Skye Deprado added a pair of goals in the fourth quarter as CMU outscored U-M, 4-1, in the final frame.
Division II women: GVSU pulls off mile-high upset
Twice the Lakers fell behind by two goals in the first half, and twice the Lakers rallied to tie their first-round NCAA tournament matchup against No. 1-seed Regis in Denver on Friday. But they didn’t stop there; Grand Valley State scored eight straight to take a six-goal lead in the third quarter en route to a 15-12 victory.
Molly Bursinger and Hailey Crittenden scored four goals apiece while Maddy Champagne added three goals and three assists and Sydney Stone also had three goals. Stone’s score from the free position with 7:50 remaining in the third quarter proved to be the winner.
Next up, the Lakers will face either Indianapolis or Maryville (Missouri) at 2 p.m. Sunday in Denver. Indy knocked GVSU out of the NCAA tournament last season. The winner of Sunday’s match advances to the national semifinals, set for Friday in Indianapolis, with the championship game slated for May 21.
Division III men: Hope downed in Virginia
The Flying Dutchmen surged in the second half, scoring six times after falling behind by 12 goals, but it wasn’t enough in a 17-9 loss to Christian Newport University in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday afternoon in Newport News, Virginia. CMU scored the first seven goals, plus an own goal with 9:23 remaining in the second quarter.
Finally, a little les than two minutes after that, Hope scored for itself, as David Brace sent the ball into the net. Brace finished with two goals and Colin Stecco had two goals and two assists for Hope.
Division III women: Hope blown away in Windy City
Julia Brown and Elena Salazar scored four goals apiece, but Denison’s relentless attack was too much for Hope College in an 18-10 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday in Chicago. Denison advances to face host Chicago in the second round Saturday afternoon.
Denison needed just 61 seconds to take an early lead, though Brown and Salazar each scored in the first five minutes to five the Dutch a 2-1 lead. But Denison scored three quick goals in the first period to take a lead it would never relinquish. Emma Repke scored the eventual winning goal with 7:41 left in the third period; she was assisted by Jane Bailey, who had three goals and four assists on the afternoon.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan women's lacrosse KOs CMU in NCAA tournament
