LEBANON, Ill. – The women's lacrosse team will go out of state for their first pair of games of the 2026 season this week, as they will take on Northern Michigan University and Concordia University, St. Paul on the road.
The Bearcats will kick things off against the Wildcats on Thursday, February 19th at 2:00 PM CT in the Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan, as they will then trek west to face the Golden Bears on Sunday, February 22nd in the Concordia Dome in St. Paul, Minnesota with start time set for 12:00 PM CT.
Both contests will be streamed live and on-demand on FloSports with a subscription purchase required, as live stats will also be provided to the public. No ticket purchases are necessary for the Northern Michigan game, but are however required for the CSP contest, and can be found on the Golden Bears' athletic website.
THE MAKEUP
McKendree returns 17 from last year's roster to set a high benchmark in experience, as the team will put out six upperclassmen, including a pair of seniors by attacker Jayna Barnden (Calgary, Alberta, Canada,) and defender Marin Paulenko (Calgary, Alberta, Canada,) coming in via Gannon University.
Barnden was a GLVC First Team All-Conference selection last season, as the Canadian led the team in both goals (63) and points (79). She also obtained the offensive player of the week for a second time in her career and has recorded a hat trick in all but two of her 15 games, with five-plus goals seven times to place her 24th in NCAA Division II in total goals.
Junior goalkeeper Amber Hayden (Woburn, Mass.) comes back to the playing field after being honored with the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year award last season after breaking the program record in total saves in a season (210) and saves per game in a season (13.13). She was top-10 in GLVC play in key goalkeeping statistics, including in goals against average (8th – 17.4), save percentage (1st – 48.0%), saves per game (1st – 15.7), and ground balls per game (2nd – 4.4). Hayden finished the 2025 season second nationally in total saves and saves per game, while ranking 6th in save percentage (50.4%).
Other notables in the returning production include junior midfielder Lexi Macleod (Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada), sophomore midfielder Makenna Fulkerson (Louisville, Ky.), and junior midfielder Mackenzie Stroisch (Arnold, Mo.). The latter two of which picked up All-Conference Honorable Mention last year, while Macleod was bestowed with a spot on the Second Team.
NCAA's TOP 25 (as of 2/17/26)
McKENDREE
Team:
N/A
Individual:
N/A
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Team:
• Assists per game (10th – 9.0)
• Caused turnovers per game (12th – 12.0)
• Clearing percentage (13th – 86.7%)
• Draw control percentage (25th – 54.5%)
• Draw controls per game (13th – 15.0)
• Free position percentage (5th – 70.0%)
• Ground balls per game (21st – 20.0)
• Points per game (7th – 29.0)
• Save percentage (14th – 51.7%)
• Scoring defense (18th – 7.0)
• Scoring margin (3rd – 13.0)
• Scoring offense (2nd – 20.0)
• Shot percentage (10th – 54.8%)
• Shots per game (6th – 36.5)
• Shots on goal per game (3rd – 32.0)
• Turnovers per game (11th – 13.0)
• Win percentage (1st – 100%)
Individual:
• Josie Lakosky –– total assists (11th – 5), assists per game (19th – 2.5), caused turnovers per game (10th – 3.0), draw controls per game (18th – 5.5), free position goals per game (5th – 1.5), total goals (3rd – 15), goals per game (2nd – 7.5), ground balls per game (4th – 5.5), total points (2nd – 20), points per game (1st – 10.0), shots per game (4th – 11.5), shots on goal per game (1st – 10.5)
• Hannah Jabas –– total assists (20th – 4), assists per game (25th – 2.0)
• Sophie Lansdale –– caused turnovers per game (6th – 3.5)
• Lauren Esposito –– goals-against average (10th – 7.3), save percentage (8th – 54.2%), total saves (17th – 13)
• Annabelle Johnson –– shot percentage (1st – 100%)
• Riley Wicklund –– shot percentage (1st – 100%)
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
Team:
• Assists per game (12th – 7.5)
• Caused turnovers per game (20th – 11.0)
• Draw control percentage (24th – 55.3%)
• Draw Controls per game (23rd – 13.0)
• Ground balls per game (12th – 22.5)
• Shots per game (22nd – 29.0)
• Win percentage (25th – 50.0%)
Individual:
• Susie Monson –– draw controls per game (7th – 7.0)
• Margarita Lucio –– goals-against average (14th – 8.8)
• Erin Chartier –– shot percentage (1st – 100%)
• Morgan Haapala –– shot percentage (1st – 100%)
• Shelby Hansen –– shot percentage (1st – 100%)
LOOKING AHEAD
After the season-opening road trip, McKendree will return to Lebanon for their home openers, where they will take on Thomas More University on Saturday, February 28th at 12:00 PM, followed by the University of Findlay on Wednesday, March 4th at 3:00 PM at Leemon Field.
Both contests will be streamed live and on-demand on the Bearcats' GLVC Sports Network via a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be available for fans to tune in.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Women's Lacrosse on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCwlax | #D2lax
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