LEBANON, Ill. – The women's lacrosse team did not disappoint with 11 Bearcat players scoring in their 2026 home opener at Leemon Field on Saturday, February 28th in a 19-9 route over regional opponent Thomas More University in non-conference action.
Score: McKendree University 19, Thomas More University 9
Record: Bearcats 2-1, 0-0 GLVC | Saints 1-2, 0-0 G-MAC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree started out hot by scoring the game's first three goals, and five of the first six as sophomore midfielder Elle Garriock (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) and senoir attacker Jayna Barnden (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) each picked up their third goals of the season. McKendree's leading scorer in sophomore attacker Ariyah LaFrance (Akwesasne, N.Y.) got her first shot to go in with a little under five minutes left in the opening period to help keep a three-point edge.
Thomas More pushed back just a smidge more in the second quarter, but much like the first, the Bearcats utilized their whole offense and dropped in another five scoring possessions off five different players. A slingshot by the sophomore attacker Sofia Mullen (Lakeside, Nova Scotia, Canada) with 28 ticks left till half upped her squad's lead to 10-5 before the break.
The momentum slowed a bit in the third period of play, except for Mullen, who would keep firing away and eventually netted her third goal of the contest off a curl action. A high-riser shot by sophomore midfielder Abby Drinkwalter (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) continued the extending trend for the Bearcats to lead by six with one more quarter to go.
A 6-1 start for McKendree to begin the fourth and final quarter of play put themselves up with a 10-point cushion, with freshman attacker Mykenzie Shymko finding the back of the net for her first two career goals on the latter two of the run. With 7:17 left in the game, Head Coach Natalie Simpson pulled junior goalkeeper Amber Hayden from the goal and had her join her teammates on the attack for the remainder of the match. The Massachusetts product was able to get herself open from a pocket pass by freshman midfielder Dom Neville (San Mateo, CA) to earn her first-ever collegiate goal, as McKendree beat Thomas More with ease, 19-9.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Mullen and junior midfielder Lexi Macleod (Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada) each earned a hat-trick with three goals apiece with the latter also contributing a pair of assists, nd the former shooting 100% on-goal and overall, with seven ground balls between the two.
• Barnden, LaFrance, Shymko, and freshman attacker Elora Waardenburg (Cobble Hill, British Columbia, Canada) each put in two goals on the day, with seven ground balls combined as well.
• Junior defender Rylee Fox (Woodridge, IL) was a disrupter on the defensive end of the field, coming away with seven caused turnovers and six ground balls. Her ground balls tie the most since 2024, and her seven caused turnovers are the most individually since 2015.
• Hayden finished with eight saves with 52:43 in the net, while sophomore goalkeeper Tabytha Moore (O'Fallon, Ill.) had one save in the remaining time.
• 30 of McKendree's 40 shots (75.0%) came on the goal, where they were 19-for-30 (63.3%).
• The Bearcats held the advantage in almost every category, including overall shots (40-24), shots on goal (26-16), turnovers (19-24), clearing percentage (89.5%-60.0%), and ground balls (29-13).
• This is McKendree's first double-digit win since beating Ursuline College on March 3rd of 2025 (23-2).
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Wednesday, March 4th to host the Oilers of the University of Findlay at 3:00 PM CT at Leemon Field in Lebanon, Illinois in non-conference action.
Fans can tune in live or on-demand on the Bearcats' GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be provided to the public.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Women's Lacrosse on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCwlax | #D2lax
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
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