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The No. 5 Lindenwood women's lacrosse team made history on Sunday evening as it received a bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in its first season of eligibility. The Lady Lions will travel to No. 3 Limestone on Saturday for a first-round NCAA Tournament contest.
 
Lindenwood and Limestone will be meeting for the second time in eight days when they take the field next Saturday in Gaffney, S.C.  This weekend, the Saints won the first contest against Lindenwood by a 15-7 score. The game was tied until Limestone scored four straight goals in the final 11:03 of the first half to take a 6-2 lead into halftime. The two teams then traded goals for much of the second half before the Saints pulled away with three goals in the final four minutes. Lindenwood and Limestone had never met before their meeting this season.
 
The Lady Lions enter the national tournament as the No. 4 seed in the South Region. Lindenwood went 14-3 in the regular season and won the RMAC Championship with a perfect 5-0 record. The Lady Lions went 3-3 against nationally-ranked teams this season. Lindenwood is in just its third season of playing NCAA competition, and it has compiled a record of 44-7 in that time.
 
Lindenwood is led individually by RMAC Most Valuable Player Melissa Menchella. Menchella is second on the team with 44 goals and 53 points this season, and is tied for the team-high with four game-winning goals. Melissa Smith leads the team with 49 goals, 24 assists, 73 points, and 44 groundballs. Erin Abbott is third with 31 goals and 44 points, and she has a team-high 23 caused turnovers.
 
Defensively, the Lady Lions are led by goalie Christine Hehmeyer and defender Stephanie Tirman. Both are the only remaining players from Lindenwood's club era. Hehmeyer has a 7.15 GAA and a .485 save percentage for the season. Tirman has 22 groundballs and seven caused turnovers.
 
Limestone is the top seed in the South Region. It enters the national tournament with an 18-0 overall record. It will be making its ninth tournament appearance and it is 3-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Saints have reached the NCAA Championship game two out of the last three years.
 
Katie Farrell is the top scorer for Limestone with 73 goals, followed by Sam McCarrick with 45. Sarah Oor has a team-high 63 assists and 99 points. Sydney Teeter is the team's starting goalie. She has a 6.83 GAA and a .439 save percentage.
 
The winner of the Lindenwood/Limestone contest will advance to the NCAA Division II semifinals which will take place on Saturday, May 17, in Salem, Va. The opponent is the next round will be the winner of the Lock Haven and Pfeiffer contest. The championship game will be May 18 in Salem.