The Monmouth College Fighting Scots women’s lacrosse team takes the field Saturday afternoon against the Concordia University Cougars in their first game of the 2021 season. The  match starts at 1:00 p.m. CT at April Zorn Memorial Stadium and will be the first athletic competition on campus since March 4, 2020. Incidentally the last event on campus was a women’s lacrosse match against Illinois Wesleyan.

Matchup History

The teams have met three times in their history with the Cougars winning all three matchups. The teams were scheduled to play in Monmouth on April 11, 2020 before the pandemic cancelled the rest of the season. The Cougars beat the Fighting Scots 17-8 on April 13, 2019 in River Forest, 15-10 on April 14, 2018 at Monmouth and 16-6 on April 1, 2017 in River Forest. 

In the 2019 matchup Concordia led 7-5 at halftime before pulling away for the 17-8 win. Amanda Green led the Scots with three goals while five other players scored one each. Anna Kellar (6), Margaret Doane (5) and Emily Cyrwus (3) led the Cougars in scoring. 

Monmouth had a 2-1 lead on Green’s second goal of the game with 20:10 to go in the opening half. Mel Fairand scored with 12:16 to play in the game to get Monmouth within 11-8 but the Cougars scored six unanswered to end the game. 

Players to Watch

The Fighting Scots return six players who started at least two of the three games last year and the roster also includes five players who started at least five games in the 6-10 2019 season. 

Senior midfielder Aspen Chadderdon (Marshalltown, Iowa) is the active leader in goals with 27 and assists with nine. She scored three goals in three starts last year and had 18 goals with six assists in 2019. Chadderdon was named on the “Players to Watch” list for the Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference preseason list in January.

Junior attacker/midfielder Mel Fairand (Bloomington, Ill.) had one assist in three starts in 2020. In 2019 she started 11 games and played in all 16 while scoring five goals and adding three assists. 

Junior midfielder Sarah Poirier (Lombard, Ill.) had one assist in three starts in 2020. In 2019 she scored two goals and added four assists in 16 starts. 

Senior defender/midfielder Lesly Montoya (Villa Park, Ill.) made one start in 2020 after starting 15 games in both 2018 and 2019. With 31 career starts and 32 games she is among the most experienced players to take the field on Saturday. 

Junior defender Courtney Fisher (Monmouth, Ill.) leads the defense. She started two of the three games last year with one ground ball. Fisher played in 12 games in 2019 with three starts.

Sophomore midfielder Madison Meldrum (Colona, Ill.) and senior midfielder Hadyn Deleeuw (Kirksville, Mo.) started all three games in 2020.

Junior goalkeeper Olivia Matlock (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) started all three games in 2020 with one win and a .422 save percentage. In 2019 she started five games and made 13 appearances grabbing one win and a .517 save percentage. She made a career-high 16 saves against Concordia Wisconsin on April 20, 2019. 

Chadderdon, DeLeeuw, Poirer, Meldrum and Montoya are among the seven lacrosse players who are also on the Scots women’s soccer roster. Freshman defender/midfielder Olivia Turley (Carlinville, Ill.), freshman midfielder Elizabeth Schmidt (Waverly, Iowa) are also on both squads. 

On the Sidelines

Monmouth head coach Elizabeth Demara is ready to begin her fifth season in charge of the women’s lacrosse program. She is the only coach the program has ever had with a 10-40 record and a 6-18 mark at home. The 2019 squad went 6-10 to set a school record for wins. 

Monmouth was picked to finish seventh in the Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference as voted on by the eight head coaches. Last year Concordia was also in the MWLC but are now in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. 

About the Opponent

The Cougars were 5-0 last year before the season was halted, including 2-0 in conference. They outscored their five opponents 87-14. In 2019 they were 9-6 overall with an 8-5 record in conference. Their top four goal-scorers from last year are back for 2021. Junior Emily Cyrwus led the team with 19 goals while sophomore Rylee Orenstein scored 16, senior Elizabeth Cyrwus scored 13 and sophomore Nina Naes had 11. Sophomore Ryan McGee started all five games in goal last year and allowed 14 goals with a .548 save percentage. The Cougars are coached by Russell Allen who is 14-6 in his three seasons at the helm.

Follow along on twitter at @MonmouthGameday and @MCFightingScots. Follow on Instagram at @MonmouthCollegeAthletics. For news and stories check out the official athletics website at www.MonmouthScots.com