(ST. PAUL, Minn., April 27)—The McKendree University women's lacrosse team wrapped up its fourth consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament berth Friday night thanks to a 22-10 victory at Concordia University-St. Paul.
 
McKendree notched its fifth win in its last six matches to improve to 7-9 overall and 6-5 in GLIAC play. The Bearcats will close out the regular season with a noon ET contest on Sunday at Northern Michigan University.
 
Senior attacker Paige Salthouse (St. Louis, MO/Ursuline Academy) led all players with seven goals to show the way for McKendree. Salthouse added two assists to finish the contest with nine points, which matched a season-high. Salthouse also eclipsed the 200-goal mark in her four seasons at McKendree with her third tally of Friday's contest. Salthouse now has 204 career goals with the Bearcats. 

Senior attacker Dana DiPasquale (St. Charles, MO/Barat Academy) chipped in with four goals and three assists, while junior attacker Emily Nelson (Deephaven, MN/Holy Family Catholic) contributed three goals and three assists in the win for the Bearcats. Nelson also registered a match-high 13 draw controls for McKendree, which was just one off her season-high.
 
Senior attacker Mia Fiore (Eureka, MO/Eureka High School), junior midfielder Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) and freshman midfielder Rylee Skachenko (Oceanside, CA/Carlsbad) each scored twice in the match for McKendree. Sugarman also caused four turnovers and picked up six ground balls against the Golden Bears. Sophomore Collin Patton (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) had a busy and productive night in goal for the Bearcats, recording 17 saves as she led the squad with eight ground balls.
 
Concordia-St. Paul (7-8, 4-6 GLIAC) opened up a 4-2 lead in the early stages of the first half before McKendree battled back. The Bearcats reeled off seven of the next eight goals to take the lead for good at 9-5 with five minutes remaining until halftime. Salthouse scored twice during the burst while DiPasquale added a goal and two assists. The Golden Bears pulled with a pair of tallies before Salthouse netted her third goal of the period to push the McKendree advantage to 10-7 at the intermission.
 
After Concordia-St. Paul scored in the first 67 seconds of the second half to get back within two goals, McKendree pulled away for good. The Bearcats ripped off four straight goals to extend its advantage to 14-8 with just under 20 minutes to play. The Golden Bears broke the run before McKendree netted five unanswered goals to push the margin to 19-9 with eight minutes on the clock.
 
McKendree, which won the GLIAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament title last spring, will be one of the four teams to battle for the 2018 league crown when the semifinal round is held on Friday, May 4 on the campus of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.