The Concordia-St. Paul lacrosse team is set to kick off the 2025 season on the road in Romeoville, Ill. against the Flyers of Lewis University at Lewis Stadium this Sunday at noon.
THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON FROM COACH JENNINGS
“This is our first year with a good number of upperclassmen and hopefully we can see the foundation we have been working to put into place the last two years shine through. We return lots of impact players and have many girls returning from injury. We are ready to make a run this season.”
MIDFIELDERS
“The middle group has grown this past year. Susie Monson returns on the draw controls which she was ranked highly in last season and we are excited to see the overall connection between the midfielders. They have done a great job playing both sides of
the ball and we look forward to seeing that play out.”
Joining Monson in the midfield group is senior Maddie Westberg, juniors Kayleigh Nelson and Kennedy Bolander, sophomore Kaysawn Carlson while Sara Kaiser, Shelby Hansen and freshman Ella Brisbois will play both attack and midfield.
Monson led the midfielders last year with 41 goals, 19 assists and 60 total points. Monson was named to the All-GLIAC Second team for the second consecutive year and was named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week last March. She ranked 29th in NCAA Division II with 5.18 draw controls a game and led the GLIAC while also setting the school record with 88 draw controls on the season.
ATTACK
“We have our largest numbers on attack which allows us more options and to create different looks. We have a big lefty group which is exciting and opens up more options and opportunities for us.”
Senior Anna Fisher and junior Cayla Jungwirth last seasons All-GLIAC selections return along with a strong core of returning players in Sydney Smith, Jenna Hamann and Morgan Haapala with the addition of newcomers Kaci Kotschevar, Sara Siman, Erin Chartier and Madison Kucera.
Fisher was named All-GLIAC Second team this past season and was named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team after producing a four-goal game and 11 shot attempts in the GLAIC Semifinals. Jungwirth was also named All-GLIAC honorable mention and ranked fifth in the conference in assists with 16 and tallied three hat tricks throughout the season.
DEFENDERS
“We have our core four coming back and its’ year three of them playing together. Two of the four are seniors and we hope to see big things from the group before we graduate the pair.”
All-GLIAC selections Claire Flahaven and Meghan McGowan return on the defense for the Golden Bears, looking to see big action and make another strong impact on the secondary. Flahaven is a two-time All-GLIAC First-Team member and was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week twice last season. She ranked eight in NCAA Division II with 2.82 caused turnovers per game and led the GLIAC in caused turnovers and ground balls per game last season.
Senior Meghan McGowan returns as a two-time All-GLIAC Honorable Mention and was named to the 2023 GLIAC All-Tournament Team. Her 1.29 caused turnovers per game ranked her sixth in the GLIAC and she accumulated a ground ball in 15 of 17 games last season.
The strong Golden Bear defensive unit will also include senior Paige Nicklaus, juniors Kaitlyn Stelk, Anna Palony and Natalie Brownfield, freshman Riley Klein and Shelby Mahowald who will look to make early action in the Navy and Gold.
GOALIES
The goalie trio features a pair of sophomore returners in Marge Lucio and Erika Holm and new freshman Katie Colleran. Lucio was a key contributor in the net marking 16 starts for the Golden Bears where she tallied 147 saves, a .420 save percentage and saw over 900 minutes of game time.
Holm also saw some quality minutes in the net, posting 13 saves in 22 shots and made a season-high seven saves against Lake Erie.
The coaching staff is excited to see what the three can do together and see who can make an impact in the net.
“We have three quality goalies and on any given day I would trust all three to get the job done!”
FINAL WORDS FROM COACH JENNINGS
“We are eager to see the Concordia students come out and support CSP Lacrosse!”
