The Foresters tied the game with six seconds remaining in overtime but fell 11-10 at the University of Dubuque on Saturday in the Midwest Lacrosse Tournament final.
Freshman Trip Gaston's 19th goal of the season tied the score for the fourth time in the contest and forced the extra period. Both team's had a possession in overtime before the Spartans netted the winner with 41 seconds remaining in the extra frame and less than one second on the shot clock.
Lake Forest was out-shot 57-29 in the contest but a season-high 21 saves for freshman goalie Andrew Widlar kept the visitors in the game. He stopped a dozen shots on goal in the second half and two more in overtime.
The Foresters jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game's first 10 minutes. Freshman Bode Rubright accounted for two of those scores and the other was sophomore John Casey's team-high 34th of the year.
Dubuque responded with three goals in the final four minutes of the first quarter and the game was tied after 15 minutes of play.
The Spartans pulled ahead early in the second but Lake Forest freshman Will Kerber's seventh score of the spring tied the game at the quarter's midpoint. The home team struck again with 34 seconds on the clock and led 5-4 at halftime.
The margin grew to three after a pair of Dubuque goals 27 seconds apart early in the third quarter. Forester freshman Luke Bowers answered with a pair of scores himself, his 17th and 18th of the year, and classmate Chas Dean's 20th of 2022 tied the score with 6:51 to play in the period. Dubuque, however, regained the three-goal cushion by the end of the quarter and led 10-7 going into the fourth.
While Widlar and the rest of the Lake Forest defense kept the Spartans from adding to their lead in the final period, freshman Jack Langworthy started another Forester comeback with his 17th score of the season. Rubright then completed his third hat trick of the year and raised his season goal total to 22 with 2:46 to play, setting up Gaston's game-tying score in the closing seconds.
Freshman Andrew Eisenman led the Foresters with three caused turnovers and tied for team-high honors with three ground balls.
Lake Forest finished 8-7 in the program's first season as a varsity sport since 1994. Dubuque advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament at 12-7.
