Friday, May 13
Evanston, IL
5 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
at
Northwestern
Sara Tisdale's CMU lacrosse team will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday when it plays at Northwestern.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Lacrosse Steps Up To The Challenge In NCAA Tournament Opener
5/12/2022 4:41:00 PM | Lacrosse
2022 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament Guide
EVANSTON, Ill. – The exuberance of winning the first Mid-American Conference Tournament championship, of doing it on their home turf, and of punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and of winning a program-record 12 games are still there.
It will forever be there, in fact, for coach Sara Tisdale's Central Michigan lacrosse team. Now, though, it's time to put that all aside, play a game, and try to make more history.
Tisdale's Chippewas (12-7) are set to take on Northwestern (13-4) in a first-round NCAA Tournament game on Friday (5 p.m. ET) at the Wildcats' Martin Stadium. Northwestern is ranked fourth nationally and seeded fourth in the 29-team tournament.
"This is a huge stage," Tisdale said while standing on the Martin Stadium turf just yards from the Lake Michigan shore on Northwestern's gorgeous campus. "To be here at Northwestern in this gorgeous facility and give (our student-athletes) this experience is something that's been important to me since day one and I'm thrilled to be able to be here today … and just excited for the future."
Northwestern won seven national championships from 2005-12 and was in the national semifinals in 2019 and 2021.
"Most of (our team members) were born exactly when Northwestern was becoming a powerhouse back in (the 2000s) era, when they were all in elementary school," Tisdale said. "They fell in love with lacrosse because of programs like Northwestern. Many have come to camps here so they're familiar with it and they understand what this means and what this place means.
"Northwestern has really continued to push our sport forward and really get us on the map. Our players grew up with this, they understand what this is all about."
No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 18 Michigan meet in the second semifinal on Friday. The winners play on Sunday, May 15 (2 p.m.). The Chippewas opened the season with 24-5 loss to Notre Dame, which was ranked fifth nationally at the time. CMU gave Michigan a good challenge before succumbing, 17-13, in early March.
"We know that we belong here," Tisdale said. "We might be the lowest seed in this four-team bracket, (but) we belong here, and we're excited to compete."
Certainly, the Northwestern facility is impressive, and CMU is indeed stepping into what amounts to a four-team tourney with three bluebloods. It amounts to another step in the progression of a program that has come so far in the seven years since Tisdale started it from scratch.
"We started today with visualization," Tisdale said. "For us it's getting them comfortable with what this field looks like, what it feels like, and just the atmosphere in general. So we walk through visualization from start to finish for (Friday) to get them comfortable. It's been a quintessential part of our program to get our mental game exactly where it needs to be before we physically start anything.
"For them it's understanding that we belong. We went back yesterday and we looked at some of the highlights when we played Michigan, Cincinnati, Robert Morris in the championship game and really got them to understand that those pieces are good enough to win that game tomorrow.
"We respect them for sure, but we're not in awe. Our schedule's been built that way for all seven seasons on purpose and that was what helped us win that MAC championships. Our strength of schedule is much higher than any of our MAC competitors. When we put Notre Dame on the schedule, a Michigan, you name it, it's to get us ready for this moment. And our players' mindset is one that we know we can compete and we can come out and win."
Several Chippewas are approaching season milestones:
• Maggie Diebold has scored 64 goals this season. That number ties Natalie Karlen (2021) for the most in a single season in program history.
• Two other Chippewas, Audrey Whiteside and Kelly Hoyt, have posted goal totals that rank in the top 10 in program history. Whiteside has scored 40 and Hoyt has 37. They rank sixth and seventh, respectively.
• Audrey Whiteside has 35 assists, which ranks second in program history behind the 42 posted by Riley Huda in 2017.
• Diebold has taken a record 139 shots this season. Karlen set the previous record in 2021 with 125. Diebold's 104 shots on goal are also a record.
• The Chippewas' Brennan Paddy has scored 11 free-position goals, which is third in a single season in CMU history. Karlen is first and second on the list with 13 in 2021 and 12 in 2018.
• Paddy and Hailie Moore have registered 24 and 20 caused turnovers, respectively, on the season. They rank second and third, respectively, behind Logan Halvorson, who had 29 in 2017.
• CMU goaltender Erin Owens has made 113 saves this season. That ranks fourth in program history. Sierra Savage set the record in 2021 with 129.
EVANSTON, Ill. – The exuberance of winning the first Mid-American Conference Tournament championship, of doing it on their home turf, and of punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and of winning a program-record 12 games are still there.
It will forever be there, in fact, for coach Sara Tisdale's Central Michigan lacrosse team. Now, though, it's time to put that all aside, play a game, and try to make more history.
Tisdale's Chippewas (12-7) are set to take on Northwestern (13-4) in a first-round NCAA Tournament game on Friday (5 p.m. ET) at the Wildcats' Martin Stadium. Northwestern is ranked fourth nationally and seeded fourth in the 29-team tournament.
"This is a huge stage," Tisdale said while standing on the Martin Stadium turf just yards from the Lake Michigan shore on Northwestern's gorgeous campus. "To be here at Northwestern in this gorgeous facility and give (our student-athletes) this experience is something that's been important to me since day one and I'm thrilled to be able to be here today … and just excited for the future."
Northwestern won seven national championships from 2005-12 and was in the national semifinals in 2019 and 2021.
"Most of (our team members) were born exactly when Northwestern was becoming a powerhouse back in (the 2000s) era, when they were all in elementary school," Tisdale said. "They fell in love with lacrosse because of programs like Northwestern. Many have come to camps here so they're familiar with it and they understand what this means and what this place means.
"Northwestern has really continued to push our sport forward and really get us on the map. Our players grew up with this, they understand what this is all about."
No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 18 Michigan meet in the second semifinal on Friday. The winners play on Sunday, May 15 (2 p.m.). The Chippewas opened the season with 24-5 loss to Notre Dame, which was ranked fifth nationally at the time. CMU gave Michigan a good challenge before succumbing, 17-13, in early March.
"We know that we belong here," Tisdale said. "We might be the lowest seed in this four-team bracket, (but) we belong here, and we're excited to compete."
Certainly, the Northwestern facility is impressive, and CMU is indeed stepping into what amounts to a four-team tourney with three bluebloods. It amounts to another step in the progression of a program that has come so far in the seven years since Tisdale started it from scratch.
"We started today with visualization," Tisdale said. "For us it's getting them comfortable with what this field looks like, what it feels like, and just the atmosphere in general. So we walk through visualization from start to finish for (Friday) to get them comfortable. It's been a quintessential part of our program to get our mental game exactly where it needs to be before we physically start anything.
"For them it's understanding that we belong. We went back yesterday and we looked at some of the highlights when we played Michigan, Cincinnati, Robert Morris in the championship game and really got them to understand that those pieces are good enough to win that game tomorrow.
"We respect them for sure, but we're not in awe. Our schedule's been built that way for all seven seasons on purpose and that was what helped us win that MAC championships. Our strength of schedule is much higher than any of our MAC competitors. When we put Notre Dame on the schedule, a Michigan, you name it, it's to get us ready for this moment. And our players' mindset is one that we know we can compete and we can come out and win."
Several Chippewas are approaching season milestones:
• Maggie Diebold has scored 64 goals this season. That number ties Natalie Karlen (2021) for the most in a single season in program history.
• Two other Chippewas, Audrey Whiteside and Kelly Hoyt, have posted goal totals that rank in the top 10 in program history. Whiteside has scored 40 and Hoyt has 37. They rank sixth and seventh, respectively.
• Audrey Whiteside has 35 assists, which ranks second in program history behind the 42 posted by Riley Huda in 2017.
• Diebold has taken a record 139 shots this season. Karlen set the previous record in 2021 with 125. Diebold's 104 shots on goal are also a record.
• The Chippewas' Brennan Paddy has scored 11 free-position goals, which is third in a single season in CMU history. Karlen is first and second on the list with 13 in 2021 and 12 in 2018.
• Paddy and Hailie Moore have registered 24 and 20 caused turnovers, respectively, on the season. They rank second and third, respectively, behind Logan Halvorson, who had 29 in 2017.
• CMU goaltender Erin Owens has made 113 saves this season. That ranks fourth in program history. Sierra Savage set the record in 2021 with 129.
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