It was a bright start to the season that matched the bright and sunny afternoon on Saturday as the Concordia University Chicago women's lacrosse team (1-0) began their season with a convincing 16-3 victory on the road at Monmouth College (0-1). It was the fourth win in four meetings for the Cougars against the Fighting Scots, as Concordia looks to build on a 5-0 record from last year before the season's cancellation due to COVID-19.

Along with the outstanding on the scoreboard, the Cougars dominated in shots (43-10) and shots on goal (37-7) while committing 13 fewer turnovers than their opponents.

Junior midfielder Emily Cyrwus (Chicago, Ill.) led the Cougars with five goals and two assists, supported by sophomores Brynn Beetow (Buffalo, NY) and Rylee Orenstein (Walnut Creek, CA) with three goals each. Elizabeth Cyrwus (Chicago, Ill.), Nina Naes (St. Louis, Mo.) and Grace Miller (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) also scored for Concordia in the win.

Though with largely little to do, sophomore goalie Ryan McGee (Chicago, Ill.) did make four saves in her sixth appearance between the pipes for the Cougars and remains undefeated in her college lacrosse career.

Defensively, the Cougars were led by Naes, who caused three turnovers and freshman Jessica Parker (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) who collected five ground balls.

The Cougars jumped out to an early four-goal lead for a score of 8-2 at the end of the second, then followed up that impressive first 30 minutes with an equally-dominant second half to cruise to victory.

The Cougars will take their six-game winning streak to Cornell College on Monday afternoon. First faceoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with a live stream available at Cornell Athletics' website.