The Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference released its 2023 All-MWLC Teams on Friday, a list that includes eight Lake Forest College players.
Leading the way for the Foresters is MWLC Midfielder of the Year Ali Graham. During the seven-game league schedule, she ranked second with 21 caused turnovers, third with 29 points, fourth with 23 goals and 34 draw controls, tied-for-fifth with 26 ground balls, and tied-for-ninth with 6 assists. No other player ranked among the top 15 in all six categories. The junior paced the Foresters with 44 goals, 60 points, 48 ground balls, 68 draw controls, and 46 caused turnovers in the team's full slate of 17 games so far this season.
Joining Graham as a First Team All-MWLC selection for the second straight season is sophomore attacker Jenna Doctor. Doctor finished seventh in the conference with 20 goals during league play and ranked second on the team with 39 goals overall.
Six players in the team were named Second Team All-MWLC, including three who were also listed among the league's best a year ago. Junior midfielder Ryleigh Nelson leads the conference with a dozen assists and ranks sixth with 27 points during MWLC play. She has tallied a team-high 29 assists and is second on the squad with 55 points overall.
Sophomore midfielder Krissy Kuwahara, the 2022 MWLC Rookie of the Year, has scored 10 times and added 19 ground balls and 19 draw controls against conference opponents this spring. She ranks second on the team with 55 draw controls and 39 ground balls while scoring 17 goals in all games.
Fellow sophomore Savannah Frauhiger tied for ninth in the MWLC with six assists and added eight goals during league play. Overall, she ranks fourth on the squad with 23 points on 15 goals and 8 assists. She is also tied-for-fourth on the squad with 26 ground balls.
Forester senior Bliss Pekkala, junior Caitlyn Dahut, and sophomore Cass Barbera were Second Team All-MWLC selections on defense. They combined for 21 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers against conference foes play this spring. They have also caused 40 turnovers and picked up 56 ground balls in all contests. Barbera, who was also a second team honoree last season, has also scored six times this year.
The conference also recognizes one player from each school on the MWLC All-Sportsmanship Team and the Foresters' honoree was senior Emma Tryder.
Lake Forest's eight total selections are the most of any team in the league. The Foresters finished the regular season second in the conference standings at 6-1 and defeated the University of Northwestern-St. Paul 10-7 in Wednesday's MWLC Tournament semifinal. They will travel to the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday for the tourney final at noon with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
