The Aurora University women's lacrosse team will head to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships for the fifth time in program history. The Spartans received a Pool A berth as they finished the regular season with a 12-7 overall record and won the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship.
 
The Spartans will travel to the University of Chicago regional and take on Hope College (14-3) on Friday, May 8 with opening draw set for 1:00 p.m. in Chicago, Illinois. The winner between the Spartans and Dutch will play the Chicago Maroons on Saturday, May 9 at 1:00 p.m.

View the complete 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship bracket - NCAA Women's Lacrosse Bracket

The Spartan women's lacrosse program, under the direction of Head Coach Christina Fried, will make its fifth NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships appearance in six seasons. The Spartans and Hope squared off earlier in the season with Hope defeating AU 14-7.

AU is led by senior attack Nicolina Smith and senior defender Alle Pope. The duo won the NACC Attack and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Smith is the AU leader with 85 points on 74 goals and 11 assists. while also collecting 74 draws, picking up 46 ground balls and causing 19 turnovers. Pope is among the leaders in Division III with 70 caused turnovers and 81 ground balls. 

As a team, AU averages 11.2 goals per game while allowing 8.1 per game. The Spartans have converted on .464 of their free-position opportunities. Defensively, AU has caused 303 turnovers and has been successful on .693 of their clears.