Central Michigan 11, Marquette 10 
Boxscore

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A little bit of heart, some grit and a good dose of composure.
 
It produced a big win for the Central Michigan lacrosse team against and old adversary, and a great start to the season.
 
Audrey Whiteside scored four goals and the Chippewas got tough when they had to during crunch time in downing Marquette, 11-10, on Sunday in the season opener at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.
 
"Getting a win against a quality opponent like Marquette on your home field when you've been waiting almost a full year to do so – I know that every single one (of our players) has been dreaming about this just as much as I have," CMU coach Sara Tisdale said. "I love this team. They love each other. There's a very genuine want to win for the person they're standing next to."
 
It marked the second time in the program's six-year history that the Chippewas have won a season opener, and it was also the second time that CMU has posted a win over the Eagles (0-2). The Chippewas last won a season opener in 2017 and they last beat Marquette in 2019. CMU is 2-4 all-time against the Eagles and has won two of the last three meetings.
 
Natalie Karlen and Maggie Diebold finished with two goals apiece for the Chippewas, while goalkeeper Sierra Savage made eight saves and finished with a .444 saves percentage.
 
Whiteside scored three of her goals in the first half, including one just 2 seconds before the break that drew the Chippewas to within 6-5. That goal seemed to spark CMU. Whiteside, a sophomore, did not register a goal or an assist in any of the four games in which she played in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
 
"When you win by one every goal matters, obviously, but I think for us it was a mentality," Tisdale said. "We weren't going into the locker room letting them have that last goal (of the half).
 
"That's Audrey Whiteside having a day right there and just taking it to the net. It's a mentality. Audrey's a little fearless and we love it."
 
CMU got three consecutive goals – one from Natalie Karlen, another from Whiteside, and the third from Courtney Burke with just over 12 minutes left – to seize an 11-8 lead.
 
Marquette scored with 7:03 to play and then again with 3:07 left to draw to 11-10. The Chippewas withstood significant Marquette defensive pressure over the final two minutes, when the Eagles were assessed two yellow cards.
 
"That was a full veteran (CMU) squad that was on the field and they played like it," Tisdale said. "My heart was pounding out of my chest in that last 30, 45 seconds and they've got (Marquette players) swinging at their heads. That takes a lot of composure to not cave under pressure.
 
"They try to, I think, intimidate teams by how they play, and we didn't cave into it for a minute."
 
The game was top to bottom statistically as even as the final score would indicate, except for one key marker: groundballs. The Chippewas finished with 26 while Marquette had 16.
 
"When you outhustle somebody 26-16 for groundballs, that's a mentality, that's gritty, that shows a team that wants to win," Tisdale said. "It speaks to our natural athleticism but also the work that they've put in leading up to this point. Give them a lot of credit for the work they've been putting in. This is the fastest team we've ever had in our six years. It's 25 degrees outside and that's just put your nose to the ground and go.
 
"We had six different goal scorers, outstanding defensive production from Meg Ols and Jill Baldwin and Bri Hart. All around it's a great place to start that's for sure."

Robert Morris 9, Liberty 8
Boxscore
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team kicked of the 2021 season with a victory at Joe Walton Stadium Sunday afternoon, defeating the visiting Liberty Flames by a final score of 9-8.
 
Fifth-year attack Mackenzie Gandy finished with two goals and three points, tying her for the RMU all-time program scoring record with Ashley Levering '12.  Three Colonials finished tied for the team lead with three points, while Gandy and Kelley Flynn each scored twice. 
 
Gandy didn't wait long to get on the scoresheet and give the Colonials an early lead, picking up a feed from Bailey Christianson and beating LU keeper Jennifer Soriero just over four minutes into the game.
 
The other Gandy made it 2-0 for the Colonials minutes later when twin sister Melanie picked up her first tally of the season off an assist from Clio Kerr to set RMU up with a two-goal lead out of the gate.
 
Despite a quick goal from Liberty to cut it to 2-1, RMU went right back to work in the attack as Kerr won the ensuing draw control to set up another scoring chance from Mackenzie Gandy, however she fired her effort off the post. 
 
A foul on Liberty gave RMU a great opportunity on a free-position attempt, and Gandy made the most of it, burying the effort for her second of the game.
 
Three more shots in quick succession nearly saw her complete the hat trick, however two quick goals from the Flames evened things at 3-3 before she could find the back of the net again.
 
Despite a two-minute penalty on LU for a crosse to the face, it was the Flames who scored on the ensuing action, posting a pair of man-down goals in a span of 20 seconds to take a 5-3 lead.
 
Kerr scored late in the first to cut it back down to one following a rush off of Flynn's groundball pickup.
 
Julia Koterwas finally evened things up at 23:17 of the second, setting off a sequence of back and forth scoring in which the Colonials and Flames traded goals, with Hannah Miller evening things at 6-6.
 
Freshman Olivia Rupert scored her first career tally to put RMU up 7-6, before two late goals including a free-position goal from Flynn sealed away the 9-8 win for RMU. 
 
Goalkeeper Katelyn Miller made 16 stops in the effort as RMU improves to 1-0.