The No. 3 Lindenwood women's lacrosse team earned a bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament on Sunday, and it will host a first-round game. The Lady Lions will take on No. 6 Florida Southern next Saturday, May 9, at 12 p.m. at Hunter Stadium. The contest will be the first NCAA regional event hosted on the Lindenwood campus.
Lindenwood and Florida Southern will be meeting for the second time this season. The regular season game also took place in St. Charles, Mo. and the Lady Lions won by a 9-8 score. Lindenwood had a 6-2 lead at halftime before Florida Southern came back and tied the game with just over two minutes remaining. The two teams traded goals before
Jordyn Constance scored the game-winner with just six seconds remaining.
Lindenwood, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, leads the all-time series with Florida Southern by a 2-1 mark. The Moccasins won the first meeting in 2012 by an 18-16 score, and the Lady Lions won in 2014 by a 13-9 margin.
The meeting will be between two of the top offenses in NCAA Division II. Lindenwood ranks first in the NCAA in scoring offense, while Florida Southern is ranked fifth. Defensively, Lindenwood ranks seventh, while Florida Southern is just outside the top ten.
The Lady Lions are having their best season in program history as they enter the national tournament with an 18-1 record. Lindenwood won both the team RMAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships. It is 6-1 on the year against nationally-ranked teams, and its only loss is to the current No. 1 team in NCAA Division II.
Melissa Menchella leads Lindenwood's offense with 62 goals and 83 points.
Lindsey Palmer has a team-high 26 assists, and is second with 49 points. The Lady Lions have a balanced offense, as eight players have 20 or more goals on the season.
Defensively, RMAC Rookie and Goalie of the Year
Rachel Ortell has an 8.39 GAA and a .458 save percentage.
Bailey Knapton, the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, leads the team with 35 groundballs, 98 draw controls, and 24 caused turnovers.
Florida Southern, the No. 3 seed in the South Region, enters the national postseason with a 19-3 overall record. The Moccasins won the Sunshine State Conference regular season title, but lost in the conference's tournament championship game. That loss was the program's only setback in 11 games since losing to Lindenwood in March.
Florida Southern is led by the trio of Caitlin Chase, Megan Asper, and Lorianne Hoover. Chase had a team-high 58 assists and 96 points. Asper has a team-high 69 goals and she has recorded 93 points. Hoover has 49 goals, 36 assists, and 85 points, and she leads the team with 67 groundballs and 50 caused turnovers. In goal, Ashley Seborowski has a 7.28 GAA and a .549 save percentage.
The winner of the Lindenwood/Florida Southern contest will advance to the NCAA Division II National Tournament semifinals, which will take place on May 16 in Salem, Va. The championship match will be on May 17 in Salem.
