The Forester men's lacrosse team is making its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament this week and will travel to John Carroll University for its first round game on Wednesday.
Lake Forest enters the tournament with an overall record of 13-4 and captured the first league title in team history with a perfect 5-0 mark in Midwest Lacrosse Conference play. The Foresters won last weekend's MLC Tournament in dramatic fashion, tying Saturday's final against the University of Dubuque with 1:25 remaining and scoring the game-winning goal with just 3.3 seconds on the clock.
John Carroll is 14-2 overall and finished second in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings with an 8-1 record in the league. They also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by prevailing scoring the final two goals and winning by one (6-5) in the OAC Tournament final at Baldwin Wallace University.
The Foresters have played just six games away from home this season. Two were at neutral sites and they won three of four true road games. They are also riding a seven-game winning streak and have not lost since March 25.
John Carroll is undefeated in seven home contests. The Blue Streaks' last loss was to Baldwin Wallace on March 29 and they've won nine in a row.
Both teams have been successful in close games, combining for a 6-1 record in contests decided by three goals or fewer.
The Foresters's top four offensive players have combined for 197 points. Freshman Brendan Herbert leads the way with 54 on 34 goals and 20 assists while junior John Casey and sophomore Bode Rubright share the team lead in goals with 39 and have added nine assists apiece. Sophomore Trip Gaston has scored 22 times this spring and leads Lake Forest with 25 assists.
At the other end of the field sophomore goalie Andrew Widlar ranks 15th in the nation in goals against average at 8.38 and classmate Conor Murphy is fifth with 3.65 caused turnovers per game. As a team the Foresters lead the country with 16.82 caused turnovers per contest and rank second in opponent clear percentage at 66.3 percent.
John Carroll also prides itself on a strong defense and ranks second in the nation with just 6.5 goals allowed per game. Goalie Jon Gaglio is second in the country in goals against average (6.82) and 12th in save percentage (61.2%). Ryan Conor paces the team with 25 caused turnovers.
Morgan Morrell and Matt Berdysiak have combined to score 101 goals and assist on 66 this season. Colin Morrissey is third on the squad with 56 points on 39 scores and 17 helpers.
Lake Forest Head Coach Phil Dodson is 21-11 in his second season at the College and 40-30 in his fifth year overall as a collegiate head coach.
John Carroll is 89-25 with Joe Rautenstrauch as head coach and the Blue Streaks have now advanced to the NCAA Tournament in six of his seven seasons at the helm of the program.
Wednesday's meeting will take place in Don Shula Stadium at Wasmer Field with the opening faceoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (ET) The weather forecast calls for abundant sunshine, light winds, and temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s.
The winner will travel to Dickinson College, which will host two second round games on Saturday and a third round contest on Sunday.
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