MELBOURNE, Fla. (February 7, 2023) – St. Thomas University (STU) has had a lot of first in the recent years, with consistently adding new sports. Tuesday night another set of first were etched in history, or as the team says herstory with the Women's Lacrosse team (0-1) taking the field for the first time ever. St. Thomas traveled two hours and 30 minutes to Rick Stottler Field and take on the NCAA Division II opponent, Florida Institute of Technology, in the inaugural season opener.
 
Although the score did not end in favor of the Bobcat there was still a lot of positives to look at in the game. Noelle Heggblod scored the first goal of the season in the second period taking it straight in on the one-on-one and scoring unassisted.
 
Heading into the final frame Heggblod saw an opening and drove in straight from the top to score once again with no help. Jorja Schooler was the only other Bobcat to score finding the back of the net with the help from Heggblod.  The sophomore midfielder stole the show with two goals and an assist to total three points.
 
Great Woods, Noelle Heggblod, Jorja Schooler, Kiersten Lang, and Samantha Diadema all recorded a ground ball. The defense forced 11-turnovers for the Panthers.
 
St. Thomas will look ahead to face another new program on Saturday at Warner with a start time of 1 p.m.