(Ann Arbor, MI) Last Saturday the women's lacrosse program completed their regular season with a 5-3 record in conference, earning them the fourth seed in the WHAC Conference Tournament. This the third trip to the WHAC Tournament for the Cardinals, last making it in 2021. This season the Cardinals only dropped conference games to the three teams seeded ahead of them, racking up 5 WHAC wins on the season. Now the Cards are set to host the fifth seeded Bethel Pilots at 4:00 PM on Tuesday.
Game Information
#4 Concordia vs. #5 Bethel
Ferry Field at Cardinal Stadium | Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday, April 16th, 4:00 PM
Live Stream | Live Stats | Tickets
About the Pilots
Bethel made it to the WHAC tournament the past two seasons, falling in the first round both times. They will look to not repeat that fate in 2024 as they prepare for a rematch of one their most closely contested games of the season.
The Pilots started off the season going 2-2 against NCAA D3 opponents. Then, down in Florida they took down Warner and narrowly lost to (RV) Webber International 14-13. Bethel rounded out their nonconference schedule with an 11-6 win at Adrian.
Bethel opened up conference play at Concordia, falling 9-7. They bounced back with comfortable wins over Rochester Christian and Madonna. The top seeded Indiana Tech and Lawrence Tech teams took down the Pilots next, before Bethel won at home against Siena Heights and Aquinas. The Pilots fell at Marian to close out their regular season, earning them the #5 seed and their third straight bid into the conference tournament.
Isabell Gerbrand and Brea Larrison lead the Pilots in most statistical categories. Gerbrand had 45 goals and 56 points on the season, while Larrison had 39 goals and 18 assists for 57 points. Gerbrand also led the team with 82 draw controls. Samantha Swope started all 15 games between the sticks for Bethel, saving 122 shots for a 48.6 save percentage. Jeremy Brown is now his seventh season at the helm for the Pilots.
Previous Matchup
March 21st, CUAA 9 - BU 7
The Cardinals came out of the gate strong, with freshmen Brynn O'Neil, McKenna VanZant, and Madeline Turcotte giving Concordia a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. Bethel cut into the lead slightly in the second quarter, but Concordia rattled off another three unanswered goals in the third quarter, with two coming from Isabella Komarowski. Concordia took a five-goal advantage into the fourth quarter. The Pilots responded with five straight goals to open up the final quarter evening up the game with 7 minutes remaining in large part due to a Brea Larrison hat trick. The Cardinals took advantage of a late Pilots penalty as Taylor Armstrong scored the go-ahead goal and eventual game winner. Cecelia Gibson sealed the result with a goal in the final seconds to secure the 9-7 victory. Michaela Ullery saved 13 shots in the game for Concordia.
WHAC Tournament
Tuesday, April 16
5:00pm #3 Marian vs #6 Siena Heights
4:00pm #4 Concordia vs #5 Bethel
Thursday, April 18
6:00pm #1 Lawrence Tech vs #4/#5 winner
5:00pm #2 Indiana Tech vs #3/#6 winner
Saturday, April 20
TBA Championship
Team Stats
|
CUAA |
BU |
Games |
14 |
15 |
Goals |
171 |
169 |
Assists |
72 |
72 |
Goals-per game |
12.21 |
11.27 |
Shots |
403 |
370 |
Shots-per game |
28.79 |
24.67 |
Shots on goal |
306 |
286 |
Shots on goal percentage |
75.9 |
77.3 |
Free position goals-shots |
33-74 |
31-62 |
Free position percentage |
44.6 |
50.0 |
Ground balls |
342 |
361 |
Draw controls |
184 |
201 |
Draw controls per game |
13.1 |
13.4 |
Turnovers |
356 |
305 |
Caused turnovers |
215 |
183 |
Clears |
172-267 |
125-179 |
Goals against |
150 |
144 |
Goals-against average |
10.71 |
9.60 |
Saves |
112 |
134 |
Save percentage |
42.7 |
48.2 |
|
|