MAC Champions to Compete in Second Straight NCAA Lacrosse Tournament

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—For the second consecutive year, Central Michigan will compete in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament as the Mid-American Conference champion Chippewas receive an automatic bid and will travel to Evanston, Ill. to face Michigan on Friday, May 12. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT at Northwestern's Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The matchups and locations are familiar for Central Michigan. Central Michigan (10-8) and Michigan (11-7) will meet for the second time this year as the two schools previously played on February 26 with the Wolverines registering a slim 7-6 win over the Chippewas in Ann Arbor, Mich. CMU also was sent to Northwestern and Evanston, Ill. for last year's NCAA Tournament.

The Central Michigan-Michigan winner will face host, Big Ten champion, No. 1 ranked and No. 1 national seed Northwestern (17-1) in the NCAA Second Round in Evanston. That contest is scheduled for Sunday, May 14 at Noon ET/11 a.m. CT. See regional schedule below.

The two-time defending MAC champion (2022 and 2023), Central Michigan defeated Robert Morris 15-12 in Saturday's MAC Championship game. The winner of the MAC Championship receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Chippewas captured the 2022 MAC Championship with a 20-10 victory over Robert Morris in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

"Anytime you play an NCAA Tournament game, it's going to be a test," Central Michigan Head Coach Emilia Ward said. "It's nice to have a familiar opponent in a familiar location. Sometimes, it's a little more fun to go in unknown, but the hard work that this group has put in, the NCAA Committee obviously saw this year and gave us an opponent that we do know well and an opportunity for our fan base to travel well. Ultimately, that's huge for our team. When our fan base travels well, we play well."

"When you win a conference championship two years in a row, I think you do gain a little respect from the committee. With us competing so well against Michigan and having quality games against Towson, and Notre Dame—we played a lot of known opponents and that helped us with the committee. It seemed like they valued that based on where they sent teams this year."

Central Michigan is one of 21 programs nationally to advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons (2022 and 2023). Those schools include: Boston College, Central Michigan, Connecticut, Denver, Drexel, Fairfield, Florida, James Madison, Jacksonville, Johns Hopkins, Loyola (Md.), Maryland, Massachusetts, Mercer, North Carolina, Northwestern, Southern California, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Virginia.

The 2023 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament pairings and seedings were announced Sunday evening on a national ESPNU broadcast. A total of 29 teams earned bids to the annual tournament, 15 are automatic qualifiers and 14 are at-large selections. The top-8 teams are seeded. A complete NCAA Tournament bracket is located at this link. Additional information is available by accessing this link.

The Chippewas enter the 2023 NCAA Tournament riding a two-game win streak with a 10-8 overall record. CMU finished tied for second place in the MAC regular season standings with a 6-2 record, entered the MAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, and defeated both two higher seeds—No. 2 seed Kent State (18-7) and No. 1 seed and host Robert Morris (15-12)—to capture the title.

Sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Martel was named to the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after making 19 saves in the two MAC Tournament games, while Avery Wagnon, Hailie Moore, Audrey Whiteside, and Skye Deprado earned MAC All-Tournament honors. Skye Deprado led the Chippewas with eight goals over the two MAC Tournament games, Audrey Whiteside registered six goals and three assists, and Kendall Hoyt added two goals and five assists.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN'S 2023 NCAA LACROSSE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

NCAA Tournament First Round | Friday, May 12, 2023 | Evanston, Ill.
Central Michigan (10-8) vs. Michigan (11-7), Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium, 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

NCAA Tournament Second Round | Sunday, May 14, 2023 | Evanston, Ill.
Central Michigan/Michigan winner vs. No. 1 seed Northwestern (17-1), Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium, Noon ET/6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

—CMU—

MAC Champions to Compete in Second Straight NCAA Lacrosse Tournament

Players Mentioned

Skye DePrado

Kendall Hoyt

Alexa Martel

Hailie Moore

Avery Wagnon

Audrey Whiteside