Limestone University

The Limestone University women's lacrosse team has earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament on 11 occasions since 2004.

That season, the Saints headed to Orlando, Fla. and made a return appearance to the NCAA Tournament two years later in 2006, traveling to Lisle, Ill., just outside of Chicago. Continuing their trend of going to the tournament every other year, the Saints headed to Houston, Texas in 2008.

They broke that trend in 2009 as Limestone made its first consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, beginning a run of seven straight national tournament runs. The Saints faced Lock Haven in Salem, Va. in '09, and in 2010 they qualified with an 18-1 overall record before dropping a heart-breaking 12-11 decision to West Chester in the final seconds of the national semifinals.

In 2011, the Saints finally broke through. After posting a 17-1 record in the regular season, Limestone earned the top spot from the South Region and a bye into the national semifinals. Once again facing their northern rival West Chester, the Saints pulled off a thrilling 10-9 victory to advance to their first-ever national championship game.

That contest would be against possibly the best team in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse history in Adelphi, a squad that sported a 19-0 record, three record-setting stars and double-digit Division I transfers. Despite a valiant effort against those odds, Limestone would drop a 17-4 decision to the Panthers.

2012 marked Limestone's fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance where the Saints met up with West Chester for a third straight season. West Chester advanced, but the next year in 2013 would prove to be another breakthrough season for the Blue & Gold. Limestone entered the 2013 postseason with an 18-1 record including seven wins over nationally-ranked teams. Limestone rolled through Pfeiffer in the First Round and managed a miraculous comeback win against Rollins in the national semifinal. In the national championship game, Limestone's second in three years, the Saints held a second-half lead over LIU Post before eventually falling 10-7.

The very next season, Limestone continued its run and managed to pull off a feat very few teams ever accomplish: an undefeated regular season. The 2014 Saints finished 18-0 with six wins over nationally-ranked foes. Unfortunately for Limestone, one of those foes took revenge in the NCAA Tournament as Lindenwood knocked the Saints from the postseason exactly one week after the two teams met in a lopsided Limestone win.

The Saints returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 after finishing the season with an overall record of 17-3. Limestone earned the No. 3 seed in the South Region and faced second-seeded Florida Institute of Technology on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. Limestone and Florida Tech battled back and forth the entire game as the Saints narrowly fell to the Panthers, 13-11.   

In 2021, the team's first as a member of the South Atlantic Conference, Limestone earned its 11th NCAA Tournament berth in program history and its second in the three seasons after going 11-2 and advancing to play in the SAC Championship. Returning to Lakeland, Fla. as the South Region's No. 2 seed this time around, the Saints stormed from behind late in its regional semifinal game to overtake third-seeded Mount Olive in overtime, 9-8. The Blue and Gold advanced to face the region's top seed in nationally fifth-ranked Queens University of Charlotte, but Limestone would fall to the Royals -- who ultimately advanced to the national championship game -- by a final score of 14-4. 




2004 NCAA Tournament Orlando, Fla.
May 12, 2004 NCAA National Semifinals
West Chester 23, Limestone 12
Recap (PDF)




2006 NCAA Tournament Lisle, Ill.
May 13, 2006 NCAA National Semifinals
No. 3 West Chester 10, No. 6 Limestone 8
Recap (PDF)





2008 NCAA Tournament Houston, Texas
May 15, 2008 NCAA National Semifinals
No. 4 West Chester 17, Limestone 9 (PDF)


2009 NCAA Tournament Salem, Va.
May 16, 2009 NCAA National Semifinals
No. 4 Lock Haven 13, Limestone 12
Recap












2012 NCAA Tournament Gaffney, S.C.
May 12, 2012 NCAA First Round
No. 7 West Chester 11, No. 4 Limestone 7


2013 NCAA Tournament Gaffney, S.C.
May 11, 2013 NCAA First Round
No. 2 Limestone 13, No. 8 Pfeiffer 3
Recap

2013 NCAA Tournament Owings Mills, Md.
May 18, 2013 NCAA National Semifinals
No. 2 Limestone 11, No. 3 Rollins 10 (2 OT)
Recap

2013 NCAA Tournament Owings Mills, Md.
May 19, 2013 NCAA National Championship
No. 2 Limestone 7, No. 1 LIU Post 10
Recap




2014 NCAA Tournament Gaffney, S.C.
May 10, 2014 NCAA First Round
No. 2 Limestone 8, No. 6 Lindenwood 14
Recap

2018 NCAA Tournament Lakeland, Fla. 
May 11, 2018 NCAA First Round
No. 7 Limestone 11, No. 6 Florida Tech 13
Recap

2021 NCAA Tournament Lakeland, Fla.
May 14, 2021 NCAA South Region Semifinals
No. 2 Limestone 9, No. 3 Mount Olive 8 (OT)
Recap

2021 NCAA Tournament Lakeland, Fla.
May 16, 2021 NCAA South Region Finals
No. 1 Queens (N.C.) 14, No. 2 Limestone 4
Recap