The Muskies will try again for their first-ever win over the Spartans, a quest that dates back to the teams' first-ever meeting in 2002, a 2-0 Aurora win. Lakeland has been getting closer in recent years, and lost by a goal in the teams' last meeting at Taylor Field, a 2-1 decision Sept. 25, 2021. The Spartans won last year's game at home in Illinois 3-0, and also added a 2-0 victory at home in 2022. The Muskies picked up their first-ever tie with Aurora with a 0-0 draw Oct. 13, 2018. Erin Tomlinson made nine saves in the match for the shutout for Lakeland.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at Dominican 5-0 Wednesday
The Muskies fell on the road to the Stars as a close game for 35 minutes was blown open with four goals in a stretch of just over 15 minutes spanning halftime. Dominican led 1-0 before a goal in the 37th minute, and the hosts would score another before halftime and then two more goals in the first 7:50 after the break. The Stars finished with a 33-4 advantage in shot attempts. Ingrid Steinbock made 10 saves and Emilie Runkel added five saves. Addison Weed registered all four shot attempts including a pair of shots on goal for Lakeland, which is still searching for its first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win this season despite a pair of ties.

Aurora last time out: Defeated Rockford 3-0 Wednesday
The Spartans picked up their first NACC win and just their second win overall at home against the Regents. Dahlia Perez opened the scoring with a goal in the 10th minute, and she also assisted a pair of Aurora goals in the second half. McKenna Kunz and Lauren Bliefernicht both scored and the Spartans dominated throughout, outshooting Rockford 25-2. Melina Cane made two saves in goal for Aurora.

The Spartans finished 6-6-5 overall last year and posted a 6-3-4 record in the NACC to place sixth in the regular season. Aurora has already lost (4-1) to a Concordia Chicago team that Lakeland tied, but the Spartans also played conference leaders Dominican (2-0) and Concordia Wisconsin (3-2) close in losses.