The Midwest Lacrosse Conference released the All-MLC Teams and announced the league's major award winners on Friday and Lake Forest College, the conference champions, were well-represented.
Four Forester sophomores earned First Team All-MWC honors, including long-stick midfielder Conor Murphy, who was also a first team selection last season. Murphy caused a league-high 26 turnovers in five MLC games this spring and ranked fourth in the conference in ground balls with 36. He has racked up 64 ground balls and recorded a team-high 57 caused turnovers in 16 contests overall.
After earning honorable mention accolades a year ago, Connor Tartaglione is a First Team All-MLC selection as a short-stick defender this season. He ranked 11th in the league with 20 ground balls and tied-for-11th with nine caused turnovers during conference play. In 15 contests overall, he tallied 38 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers.
Joining Murphy and Tartaglione as a First Team All-MWC honoree on defense is Jack Gillard, whose 15 caused turnovers tied for the fourth-highest figure in the conference. He also ranked second on the team with 35 caused turnovers and third with 45 ground balls in the Foresters' 16 games so far this spring.
Midfielder Trip Gaston also earned First Team All-MLC honors after scoring seven goals and adding five assists in league play. He leads the squad with 24 assists and has scored 22 times himself in all games so far this year.
Lake Forest also had five players named to the second team, including MLC Rookie of the Year Brendan Herbert. The freshman attacker tied for third in the league with 22 points on 13 goals and 9 assists in MLC contests. He currently has a team-high 53 points on 33 goals and 20 assists during the Foresters' full schedule.
Sophomore attacker Bode Rubright tied for first in the league with 17 goals and was also a second team selection. He is tied for the team lead with 38 scores overall.
Senior midfielder Bobby Ojascastro tied for eighth in the MLC with 11 goals, including six during the Foresters' 16-14 at the University of Dubuque that ended up deciding the league title. He enters Saturday's rematch with Dubuque in the MLC Tournament final with 25 scores overall.
At the other end of the field, Lake Forest freshman defender Simon Colby was a second team honoree after causing six turnovers and picking up 13 ground balls against conference opponents. Despite missing the first three games of the season, he ranks fourth on the team with 17 caused turnovers in 13 appearances overall.
Sophomore goalie Andrew Widlar also earned second team honors after leading the MLC with a 6.15 goals against average in the league. He was also one of just three goalies to have more saves than goals allowed during league play. Widlar is currently 11-4 with a .512 save percentage and ranks 17th in the nation with a 8.32 goals against average in all games.
Lake Forest also had one of the conference's six Honorable Mention All-MLC players in junior attacker John Casey. Casey ranked fifth in the league with 14 goals during the conference season and tied-for-third with 38 scores overall. He is tied-for-second on the team with 46 points.
The conference also recognizes one player from each school on the MLC All-Sportsmanship Team and the Foresters' honoree was senior Winston Stock.
In addition to all the honors his players earned, Forester Head Coach Phil Dodson was named MLC Coach of the Year after sharing that honor last spring. His team is 12-4 overall and captured the program's first conference title with a perfect 5-0 record in league play. The Foresters defeated Cornell College 18-4 in the semifinals of the MLC Tournament on Friday and will host Dubuque in the final on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
