(LEBANON, Ill., April 6)—The McKendree University women's lacrosse team picked up an important Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win on Friday with an 11-10 triumph over Concordia University-St. Paul at Leemon Field.
 
The Bearcats scored five unanswered goals in the middle stages of the second half to overcome a three-goal deficit and snap a four-match winless streak in the process. McKendree improves to 3-8 on the year and 2-4 in GLIAC action. The Bearcats will continue their home stand on Sunday with Northern Michigan University comes to Leemon Field for a conference clash. Match time is set for noon.
 
Four different McKendree players tallied at least two goals in the win. Senior attacker Paige Salthouse (St. Louis, MO/Ursuline Academy) led the way with two goals and three assists for five points against Concordia-St. Paul. Senior attackers Dana DiPasquale (St. Charles, MO/Barat Academy) and Mia Fiore (Eureka, MO/Eureka High School) each added a pair of goals along with an assist, as did junior attacker Emily Nelson (Deephaven, MN/Holy Family Catholic).
 
Freshman defenseman Jess Morey (Loveland, OH/Loveland) was credited with a team-best six ground balls, while Fiore contributed four draw controls for the Bearcats.
 
After trailing 7-4 at the half, McKendree battled back within a goal at 7-6 thanks to scores by Nelson and DiPasquale in the first four-plus minutes of the second half. Concordia-St. Paul (6-4, 3-3 GLIAC) responded with a pair of tallies to regain a three-goal advantage at 9-6 with just under 22 minutes remaining.
 
Salthouse began the Bearcats' decisive run with a goal off a pass from Nelson to get within 9-7. Junior midfielder Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) followed less than a minute later with an unassisted goal before DiPasquale scored with 17:31 on the clock to knot the contest at 9-9. Freshman midfielder Rylee Skachenko (Oceanside, CA/Carlsbad) – who had five goals against the University of Indianapolis on Wednesday – put McKendree in front to stay with a goal off a pass from DiPasquale exactly midway through the period, and Salthouse finished off the run at the 12:35 mark to give the Bearcats an 11-9 cushion. The last two goals for McKendree came with a player down.
 
The visiting Golden Bears netted a goal with 7:29 left to play to get within a score, but the McKendree defense was able to shut down Concordia-St. Paul to collect the win.
 
The teams will meet again April 27 in St. Paul, Minn.