LEBANON, Ill. – Rain, thunder, lightning, fog, wherever the skies from above set down to the plains of Leemon Field, it would not hinder one bit for the women's lacrosse team, who would dominate the University of Findlay 17-5 in a game that saw long pauses halfway through on Wednesday, March 4th in Lebanon, Illinois in non-conference action.
Score: McKendree University 17, University of Findlay 5
Record: Bearcats 3-1, 0-0 GLVC | Oilers 2-2, 0-0 G-MAC
HOW IT HAPPENED
After roughly four minutes of action to start, sophomore attacker Ariyah LaFrance (Akwesasne, N.Y.) netted the first goal of the game, as junior midfielder Lexi Macleod (Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada) followed up with another to force a Findlay timeout. The Oilers were finally able to get themselves on the board with a two-goal response to tie the game up, but the Bearcats closed out the first quarter of play with three more scores to go up 5-2.
Senior attacker Jayna Barnden (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) started off the second period with a man-down goal for her squad before the Oilers tacked on two more to close the gap to one. Then, the Bearcats would turn up the jets and go on a blazing 7-0 run that dipped into the majority of the third quarter, as Barnden picked up two more scoring possessions to give herself the hat-trick with five other McKendree players each contributing one goal in the process.
Gameplay would apparently pause for a good hour and 45 minutes of real time as the city of Lebanon encountered a lightning storm that had been brewing all week long. Yet, that did not affect McKendree and their gameplan in any way or form, as junior midfielder Mackenzie Stroisch (Arnold, Mo.) dropped in her second of the game to hold. 10-goal lead at 14-4.
With both teams looking to put a wrap in the fourth and final period of action, Findlay swung one last ball into the pipes while Macleod registered two more to her scoring arsenal and LaFrance converted on the free position shot to seal the deal against the Oilers 17-5.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• LaFrance totaled six points with three goals and a trio of assists on five shot attempts, all of which on the goal, plus a ground ball, a caused turnover, and a draw control.
• Macleod had a game-high four goals on also five shot attempts, while tabbing four each of ground balls and caused turnovers, plus six draw controls.
• Barnden was the third Bearcat to get a hat-trick, as she did so on six attempts overall and five on the goal to go with a pair of ground balls and caused turnovers.
• Junior goalkeeper Amber Hayden (Woburn, Mass.) was in the net for 59:00 of the total 60:00 minutes and collected nine saves.
• McKendree outshot Findlay 33-20 and 21-11 on the goal.
• The Bearcats were14-for-18 on clear attempts while the Oilers were 18-for-24.
• McKendree had the 19-5 advantage on ground balls.
• The 12-point win was the team's largest since winning 23-2 (+19) at Ursuline College on March 3rd of 2025.
• This is the second straight year with the program going 3-1 or better in the season's first four games.
• McKendree is 2-0 this season against teams in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).
UP NEXT
McKendree will now head west for their spring break games in the Centennial State of Colorado for a three-game stretch, with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs up first on Sunday, March 8th Mountain Lion Stadium at 1:00 PM CT
All three games in Colorado will be streamed live or on-demand on the RMAC 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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