Brooke Groppe, Maryville Athletics

Schipfer's overtime winner lifts Regis past Grand Valley in Midwest Region semi-finals

May 16 | By: David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Box Score ST. LOUIS, Missouri — The No. 5 ranked Regis University women's lacrosse team showed its toughness Thursday during its Division II Midwest Regional Tournament semi-final matchup against No. 7 ranked Grand Valley State University, shaking off an early deficit and scattered showers among other obstacles to earn a 13-12 overtime victory.

With the victory, Regis (19-1 overall) advances to Saturday's Midwest Regional Tournament championship game against top-seeded Maryville University. First draw is scheduled for 11 a.m. (Mountain Time).

"Toughness, resilience, grit and I thought our team also stayed incredibly composed," said Regis head women's lacrosse coach, Sarah Kellner. "During that little break before overtime, collectively, the girls were in the huddle saying, 'Let's enjoy this. We got here to this moment and this is our moment.' There was a lot of belief among everyone."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Regis sophomore midfielder Maggie Schipfer would play hero Thursday as the RMAC's leading scorer racked up a game-high five goals, none bigger than her drive and score just 51 seconds into the golden goal overtime period.

"Really great stick protection, the vision she had to see the lane and take it was incredible," Kellner said of Schipfer's game-winning goal.

Schipfer, who also added two assists on the afternoon, currently sits at 65 goals so far in 2024; the third most in a single-season in program history and seven shy of the 72 goals scored by Sarah Myres in 2018.

"Maggie is an incredible team player and she loves this team. She loves being competitive and put in a lot of work during the offseason to play at this level," Kellner said. "And Maggie plays her best lacrosse when she's having fun. She was the one out there reminding everyone to have fun and play together."

The Rangers had to weather an early storm, literally and figuratively, as Grand Valley State (17-2 overall) jumped out to a 5-1 lead at the 3:14 mark of the first quarter and heavy rains began to pelt the St. Louis area shortly after.

Regis would respond to the adversity, netting two goals in the final 1:04 of the quarter on scores by junior midfielder Megan Bunker and Schipfer.

That momentum would carry over into the second quarter as the Rangers outscored Grand Valley, 5-1, to storm all the way back to take an 8-6 lead at the break.

"There was a lot of emotion in the first quarter and when we called timeout down 5-1 we were just reminding ourselves to calm down, do the basics and believe in ourselves and what got us here," Kellner said.

Regis would go on to hold a lead as large as 11-7 on another goal by Bunker at the 12:23 mark of the fourth quarter, and held a 12-9 lead after a goal from senior midfielder Bailey Truex with 4:19 remaining, before Grand Valley closed regulation on a 3-0 burst to force overtime.

Bunker and Truex each added hat tricks alongside Schipfer to help pace the Regis offense, while sophomores Shea Murphy and Lauren Sheets each chipped in a goal apiece.
In addition to her offensive output, Bunker also led all Regis players with 10 draw controls, four caused turnovers and four ground balls on Thursday.

Graduate student midfielder Lily Ferguson followed with five draw controls and three ground balls.

In net, senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Myotte earned the win and made four saves.

UP NEXT
The win over Grand Valley State avenged a loss to the Lakers in the 2023 Midwest Regional Tournament semi-finals held in Denver. Now, the Rangers will look to even another score when they face No. 8 ranked and top-seeded Maryville University (18-1 overall); the only team to defeat Regis during the regular season.

Regis and Maryville will square off at 11 a.m. Saturday (Mountain Time) for the right to move on to the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championships, scheduled for May 23-25 in Winter Park, Florida.

"We all know that our first game against Maryville wasn't our best and we were hoping for the opportunity to play them again," Kellner said. "They are a very good, competitive and athletic team end-to-end. But we're also very confident in our abilities so we're excited for this challenge."

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