CMU Lacrosse Completes Season Sweep of Detroit, Secures Sara Tisdale's 100th Victory as Coach
Updated: May 24, 2022
It was cold, windy and the clouds were threatening to sprinkle some mixture of snow or rain, but that didn't deter the Central Michigan Lacrosse team from setting out to complete their missions of the weekend: Maintain second place in the MAC, secure a win on Senior Day, and earn Coach Sara Tisdale her 100th coaching victory. The afternoon was off to a slow, cold start from both squads, the Chippewas running out to a marginal 3-0 lead. Those three goals coming from Audrey Whiteside (12:56), Kelly Hoyt (8:15)
and Courtney Burke (5:07). Detroit finally got on the board at the 1:55 mark slamming in a beautiful shot by Annie Gilbert, drawing within two of the Chippewas. Central Michigan would respond with a shot by Hoyt with 34.8 seconds left in the first quarter. Time would expire and the Chips would carry a 4-1 lead into the second quarter..
Detroit wasted no time closing the gap to start the second quarter, Taylor Cantelon winning draw control and cruising down field to draw the Titans within two once more, making it 4-2 after just ten seconds of play. That was as close as Detroit would get the rest of the way, as CMU ripped off three straight from Maggie Diebold (14:37), Brennan Paddy (11:33), and Diebold (11:22) before Detroit's Maddy Camm sniped a shot at the 10:07 mark. The Chippewas would go on another 3 goal run, goals coming from Hoyt (9:15), Diebold (5:12) and Whiteside (1:47) before Ella Brandt would respond for the Titans at the 4:49 mark. Two more goals from the host team (Hoyt -2:26, Whiteside -1:46) would swell the lead to an eight goal margin, making it 12-4 at the midway point.
The Titans would kick off scoring in the third quarter, with a goal from Cat Kopchia at the 13:25 mark to bring Detroit within seven, before Whiteside (10:57) found the back of the net to send Central Michigan on another four goal run to finish the third quarter (Hoyt -8:20, Diebold -6:27, Hannah Potter -3:13). The hosting Chippewas would lead 16-5 after three.
The fourth quarter would prove similar to the first, sluggish on both sides of the ball, this time the Titans would outscore the Chippewas 4-2. Central Michigan score the first two goals scored by Whiteside (10:57) and Hoyt (8:20), before a four goal attack by Detroit, lead by Kopchia (12:59 and 00:24, who secured her fourth career hat trick) and Elise Harder (4:24, 3:06), to finish the scoring for the day.
With the win, CMU would move to 7-6 (5-1 MAC) and Detroit would lose their 11th game, dropping to 1-11 (1-6 MAC)
CMU Head Coach Sara Tisdale would earn her 100th career victory on Senior Day, with CMU graduating 8 players this spring. When asked about what the 100th victory milestone meant to her, Tisdale thanked the families and players. "So many amazing families and so many great players have allowed me to get to this point...The amazing people that have said 'yes' to the same vision that I wanted them to invest in, it really means a lot. I think about every single one of those victories along the way, and the people that made it possible."
UP NEXT: CMU plays at Kent State on 4/16 at 1pm, while Detroit hosts Youngstown State on 4/16 at 1pm.