The Benedictine University women's lacrosse team is set to begin its third season as an NCAA Division III competitor. On Saturday, the regular season gets underway for the Eagles at 1:00 p.m. as the University of Dubuque visits the Village of Lisle/Benedictine University Sports Complex.
 
Cat Thorseon took over the program last year in its second season and increased the team's win total from one to four. Benedictine finished the year on a very strong note, winning the final three games over Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference foes Aurora University, Loras College, and Fontbonne University. Benedictine finished with a 3-7 MWLC record, tying for seventh place with Aurora in the 11-team conference. The league has since reduced to eight schools.
  
Dubuque is one of a few teams to leave the MWLC prior to this season. Now members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's women's lacrosse league, the Spartans finished 4-11 overall and 2-8 in MLWC play last season, tying the team for ninth place with Loras. The Iowa school is also in its third season as a program and holds a 5-22 all-time record as a varsity program.
 
The Eagles and Spartans met once in MWLC play last season, playing on April 14 at Loras College. Dubuque prevailed in the matchup 11-6 despite being outshot 25-23 by the Eagles. Attacker Bridget Schrimers tallied four goals on seven shots for the Spartans, while Gabby Rowe and Samantha Link contributed two apiece for BenU. Benedictine defeated Dubuque 19-4 in Lisle in 2013.
 
Live audio, video, and statistics will be available for Saturday's game at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/benu/. Donnie Rollins will be on the call.