GLIAC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

(ALLENDALE, Mich., May 4)—The McKendree University women's lacrosse team registered a 27-19 victory Friday over No. 13-ranked Grand Valley State University in the semifinal round of the 2018 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in Allendale, Mich.
 
For the second consecutive year, the Bearcats knocked off the top-seeded Lakers on their home turf in tournament play. McKendree improves to 9-9 on the season and will defend its GLIAC Tournament title on Sunday against the University of Indianapolis, which posted a 16-14 victory over Tiffin University in the other GLIAC Tournament semifinal. Match time is set for noon ET/11 a.m. CT in Allendale, Mich. Grand Valley State is the host institution for the four-team tournament. McKendree won the 2017 GLIAC Tournament crown last season with a 12-8 triumph over Grand Valley State on the Lakers' home field.
 
Senior attacker Dana DiPasquale (St. Charles, MO/Barat Academy) surpassed the 50-goal mark for the season by leading McKendree with six goals against Grand Valley State. She also added two assists in the contest. Senior attacker Mia Fiore (Eureka, MO/Eureka High School), junior attacker Emily Nelson (Deephaven, MN/Holy Family Catholic) and junior midfielder Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) all chipped in with five goals. Senior attacker Paige Salthouse (St. Louis, MO/Ursuline Academy) netted three goals and handed out a team-leading three assists for the Bearcats.
 
With her six goals against Grand Valley State, DiPasquale now has scored 54 times this season. She and Salthouse have each surpassed 50 goals this season, marking the first time in program history that McKendree has had two 50-goal scorers in the same season. Salthouse has a team-leading 67 goals with her three tallies on Friday.
 
Grand Valley State (13-5) took an early 2-1 lead before McKendree reeled off four straight goals to grab a 5-2 advantage. Nelson tied the contest before DiPasquale netted her 50^th goal of the season to put the Bearcats in front at 3-2 with a little less than 21 minutes left in the opening half. Fiore and Sugarman finished off the run to extend the McKendree lead to three goals.
 
After the Lakers chipped away at the deficit and pulled within 6-5 before Sugarman and sophomore attacker Kayla Smith (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township) helped McKendree regain an 8-5 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining in the period. The Bearcats then closed the half with a flurry, scoring the final four goals of the period in the final four minutes to take a 12-6 lead in to the locker room. Fiore netted her third goal of the contest just before time expired in the half to provide McKendree with a six-goal cushion.
 
The teams traded goals in the opening moments of the second half before Grand Valley State ripped off five straight scores to pull within 14-13 with exactly 20 minutes to play. After sophomore goalkeeper Collin Patton (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) made three straight consecutive saves to keep the Bearcats in the lead, Salthouse ended the Grand Valley run with a goal at the 17:28 mark to help McKendree regain a two-goal advantage.
 
Salthouse's tally sparked a run of six unanswered goals for McKendree to build a 20-13 advantage with 12:59 left. DiPasquale had three goals during the burst while Salthouse added another tally and Nelson provided the other score. Grand Valley State got as close as 22-18 before another three-goal run enabled the Bearcats to seal the upset victory. The Bearcats' 27 goals surpasses their previous program single-game high of 26, which they set last week against Northern Michigan University.