2012 Team Picture!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
WCLL ANNOUNCES ALL-CONFERENCE
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
MORE POST SEASON AWARDS FOR THE FORESTERS!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Big Weekend for Senior Hayne!
FORESTERS CELEBRATE GRADUATION!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Foresters Defeat Chicago
"It was great to see the way that the team responded to CC's success. You could tell that she truly meant a lot to the girls on the team. CC had been patiently waiting for there to be enough students on campus interested in women's lacrosse for the last three years. Finally in her senior year, the freshman class had enough interest and the team was started. CC will forever be identified as one of the core members to get the program off the ground and running," commented Coach Catanzaro.
"That shot by Amanda was by far the hardest shot we have seen on the field this year. The goalie had no chance on that one," said Catanzaro.
"This was the first Gatorade bath of my career in any sport. It was great. This team exceeded all expectations for a first year program. I was initially nervous that we would struggle after our first few practices indoors. In the end, a great group of young ladies played with great intensity and commitment. I couldn't be more thrilled with how they ushered women's lacrosse on to the Lake Forest campus."
Monday, April 11, 2011
Did You Know?
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Foresters improve to 8-2 with win over St. Mary's (IN)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Foresters Extinguish the Prairie Fire!
"I was thrilled for Sherie. This is her first time playing lacrosse, and you can tell that she has a natural knack for the sport. The way she was roaming the field today, I thought about asking her to come back and play safety on the football team next year. I have never seen anticipation like that on the lacrosse field before." Catanzaro continued,"I was happy to that we had the chance to see a lot of player get playing time and get a chance to take shots on the goal. I was thrilled with the improvement that some of the girls have shown since the first day they showed up to today. I was impressed by a number of the first year players. Emily Hampden-Smith, Eileen Newcomer, Amanda Forsyth, Rosy Fujimoto, Stacy Dierking, among them. These are girls who scored goals for us today. Four weeks ago, when we went to Wheaton, these girls were seeing a lacrosse field for the first time and learning what an eight meter line was. I couldn't be happier with their progress."
Foresters fall to Big East Opponent
"We were caught looking, and the adjustments that we made defensively weren't as effective as we had hoped. We had a few people who had tired legs from the games the day before and we should have provided them a sub as they got tired. In addition, the number of penalties we were being called for inside the 8m was very uncharacteristic. It felt that the game was being called very tight comparative to the previous 7 games that we had played. I took umbrage to two of the calls that were made during the man down situation as it seemed every 50/50 call went the way of DePaul. To their credit though, they were controlling the draw, and that is 80% of the battle in women's lacrosse," said Coach Catanzaro.Back to full-strength, the Foresters possessed the next draw and moved the ball through the neutral midfield before a turnover cost them possession. DePaul would take the ball down field and attack the 8m with a number of quick passes. Sarah Milligan would be called for an illegal check and would receive a yellow card, putting the Foresters down a player again. Goalie Jenn Caldwell would deflect the free shot wide of the goal and the Foresters would win the chase to the end line. LFC would possess the ball until the penalty would run out and they returned to full strength. The Foresters would not convert on the possession, but they were able to put a few shots on the DePaul goalie. The Demons would possess the ball and attack the Forester defensive zone on their next possession. In the possession, McCoy was called for her second yellow card on what appeared to be a "phantom" check to the head. With this being her second yellow card, and the teams third, McCoy was forced to sit for the rest of the game (and the next game), and the Foresters were forced to play the remaining 42 minutes of the game a player down.
"This put us in a tough spot. Not only did we have to play a man-down, but we were losing one of our two best defenders at the same time," commented Coach Catanzaro. "I didn't agree with the call, or the fact that she was given a yellow card, but that is a decision that once an official makes it, there is no coming back from it. I felt that some of the checks at the other end of the field were as, if not more, dangerous than the ones we were playing defense with."
The Demons would convert the Free shot and go up 4-2 on the Foresters. Lake Forest would control the following draw and Amelia Lawrence would push the Foresters deep into the DePaul zone. Lawrence would find a cutting Milligan for her second goal of the game to cut the DePaul lead to one at 4-3.
DePaul would push the envelope over the next eight minutes and show a tremendous ability to exhibit draw control, as the would control 3 straight draws, all of which would lead to goals as the extended their lead to 7-3.
Lake Forest would appeared to be fading, as if the games from the day before had wore them out.
"It was obvious that we didn't have our normal speed, especially in the open field. We didn't have the ability to take advantage of our athleticism in transition. I think that the combination of three games the day before and the fact that we were playing a man-down really wore out midfielders out. We were rotating a number of people that aren't used to playing as many minutes as they were getting. I think that they were putting additional pressure on themselves to do more than we expected of them," said Catanzaro.
The Foresters would get a boost before half-time as Lawrence would create a turnover and win the battle for the ground ball. She returned brought the ball the length of the field and would make a great fake the forced the DePaul goalie to adjust, and she scored easily. The goal put the Foresters down 7-4 at the half.
DePaul would come out of the second half determined to put the Foresters down for the count. Taking advantage of their man-up situation, the Demons would score three early goals. The first off of a draw control that lead to an advantage in the transition. The second goal came off of a Forester turnover and gave the Demons the ball inside their offensive zone. A Forester penalty on a ground ball would give the Demons a free shot which they would convert on goalie Barbara Wye. The third goal by the Demon's would prove to be their last goal of the day on another free-shot to give them a 10-4 lead.
The Foresters would control the next draw and would sprint down the field in transition. As Danielle Leonardo attacked the crease she was fouled, providing her with a Free-shot. Leonardo converted on the free shot to cut the DePaul lead to 10-5 with eight minutes to go in the game.
The Foresters would lose the next draw, but CC Hayne would create a turnover and run the ball down field for the Foresters. Upon entering the offensive end of the field, she would provide an immediate feed to the Emily White who would scoop the ball past the goalie. To cut the lead to 10-6. The Foresters started to feel some energy off the back to back goals. On the next possession, the Foresters would be fouled and the DePaul player would be sent off the field with a yellow card. The Foresters would turn the ball over in their own zone, but some tenacious trapping employed by the Foresters would have Lawrence create a turnover and take the ball the length of the field for her second goal of the game, and the Foresters third goal in 94 seconds cutting the score to 10-7.
DePaul would call a timeout after the goal, and the fatigued Foresters seemed to be the fresh team coming out of the timeout. The Demons would control the next draw and possess the ball for a full minute, but they were unable to convert on their shot opportunities, including two free-shots. Wye would make a save on the second free shot and get the ball to Lawrence to carry down the field. Lawrence would make a pass to freshman Sarah Jonathan who would be fouled on her way to the goal. Jonathan would convert the free shot to make the score 10-8 with just under two minutes to go in the game.
DePaul would control the next draw, and the Foresters would miss two consecutive opportunities to collect ground balls despite being the first stick to touch the ball. DePaul would run out the remaining time on the clock, and the Forester comeback would fall just short.
"I was extremely pleased with the energy and excitement that the girls brought to the comeback. I wish that we would have had that at the beginning of the game, or at least at the beginning of the second half. I think once we started getting more aggressive, we experience more success. One of the advantages that DePaul had was that they were very strong on the draw. In addition to that, they made good solid passes, so there weren't a lot of ground ball opportunities which has been one of our strengths throughout the season. We weren't nearly as aggressive as I would have liked early in the game. I think that the two yellow cards on Malaika early, really put us in a very passive defensive mindset. That passive approach carried over into our offensive performance. Once we got our spirit back up, we were able to get back into the game quite quickly," praised Coach Catanzaro.On the day, the Forester goalies played spectacular. Caldwell made 7 saves on the say after facing 14 shots, 3 of which were free-shots. Wye made 7 saves on the 10 shots that she faced, including 4 free-shots. The Foresters were outshot 24-16 in the game. The Demons also held a significant advantage in draw control, winning 15 of the 20 draws on the day.
Hayne paced the defense with 4 groundball pickups and two interceptions.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Marquette Play Day-- GAME #3
"What do you say about someone who scores six goals in a game against a talented opponent? Emily was absolutely incredible in the way that she stepped up for the team and provided offense. Emily is a quiet, humble player who is a joy to coach. She plays with a quiet confidence, and is "sneaky aggressive" on the field. She just finds a way to make plays," exclaimed Coach Catanzaro.
"What really amazed me is how efficient she was, she only took seven shots and scored six goals. That is a great demonstration of not forcing shots, but taking advantage of the shots that you have a legitimate opportunity to score." "Sarah Milligan and Amelia drew a lot of attention to themselves early in the game by scoring six of our first seven goals. I think that helped open things up for Emily. One of the best parts of both Sarah and Amelia is their unselfish play, and they were able to find ways to contribute the scoring with their passing to the open players. Emily had six goals, but Sarah had five points as well, three goals and two assists. Amelia's ability to change the field with her ability to weave through the opponents defense created a lot of problems for them as well. Those three individuals played a great game."
"Its easy to talk about the offensive players because of the statistics. What doesn't show up is the way that our defenders played. Malaika, CC, Sam, Maeve, and Stacy did a tremendous job running the field and creating problems for Marquette. They got their stick on passes, squeezed players away from the 8 meter line, and made sure that no one was free running through the field. Their stinginess and desire to impact every possession really helped us get out to the early lead," said Catanzaro.
With the win, the Foresters improved to 6-1 on the 2011 season.
Foresters cruise past Ripon at Marquette play day!
"We had a great out burst of offense against Ripon. We were really clicking on offense. Our passes were crisp, and we were beating them down the field in transition. Our draw control percentage was totally dominated. We won 11 of the 12 draws in the first half. Amanda Forsyth got her first start and really took advantage of the additional playing time. She personally controlled five of the draws, picked up seven ground balls, had two goals on three shots, and had an assist. She was definitely a big part of our success." said Coach Catanzaro.To start the second half, the Redhawks would get their second goal of the game on a Free-Possession. Forester Goalies Caldwell (First Half) and Wye (Second Half) would only face four total shots, stopping two of them. the Foresters would not allow a shot for the final 28 minutes of the game. In an effort to save legs for the Marquette game, Caldwell would actually play 22 minutes on the field for the Foresters. After the Redhawk goal, the Foresters would score six unanswered goals to close out the game. The Foresters would receive some impressive performances from their reserve players. Hampden-Smith would follow up her first goal in the first half by scoring the Forester first goal of the second half. She was followed by Dubinski and Forsyth who would both score their second goals for the day. Forsyth's goal came off of a great pass from Jonathan who was providing a break to some of the reserves who weren't used to this type of running. Danielle Leonardo would figure in the next two scores for the Foresters. She scored the next goal for the Foresters. And then provided a pass that allowed sophomore Jenn Caldwell to quick stick the ball past the Redhawk goalie. Caldwell, who is usually a goalie for the Foresters played in the field and scored her first collegiate goal. The final Forester goal was by senior Sherie Dubinski, her third of the day. Dubinski, who is in her first year of lacrosse ever, after being a four-year letter winner for the Forester basketball team, completed the first hat-trick of her career. She became only the fifth Forester to record a hat-trick this season. Defensively the Foresters were a team that dominated the ground-ball portion of the game. The Foresters collected 47 groundballs in the game. In addition, the Forester defense 11 interceptions, led by Hayne and Dubinski who each had 3 a piece. The Foresters won by a final of 16-2 and outshot Ripon 40-4.
Foresters fall to #10 Aquinas
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Foresters Improve to 4-0
The Lake Forest College Women's Lacrosse team won their fourth straight game in their home opener. The Foresters edged out the Wildcats of Northwestern 13-8 in the battle of the only two club lacrosse programs on the North Shore.
Despite a sluggish start, the Foresters were able to prevail in the first game for the women's team at Farwell Field.
A brisk wind off Lake Michigan dropped the temperatures into the low 30's at game time, but a bright sun, and a red-hot Forester team warmed up the friendly confines. The Foresters would exchange goals with the Wildcats for the first ten minutes of the game before pulling away.
Sarah Milligan (Vernon Hills, IL) kept up a streak of her own. In each of the Foresters four games, Milligan has scored their first goal. Freshman Sarah Jonathan assisted on the goal, on a feed from behind the net. The goal would give the Foresters the 1-0 lead in front of an energetic crowd at Farwell Field. Northwestern would answer back off of a turnover and tie the game at 1-1.
LFC would respond with a goal from Ameilia Lawrence(Oldwick, NJ) scored her first goal of the day to reclaim the lead for the Foresters. Northwestern would respond and score a goal of their own.
The Foresters third goal would be scored by Jonathan on a feed from Lawrence. The Foresters would give up the third goal of the game on a Northwestern penalty shot. The Lake Forest response was a goal by senior CC Hayne (St. Helena, CA) it was the third goal of the season for the defender. The Wildcats would tie the game back up at four a piece, before Kristen DeLuca (Westport, CT) would score her first goal of the game after being inserted to the game as a substitute. Northwestern would tie the game at 5-5 after another free shot on goal after a penalty inside the 8m line.
This penalty would spark the Foresters to go on a 5-0 run to complete the first half. The Foresters would receive back to back goals from Milligan to complete the hat-trick. Milligan's second goal came on a picture perfect assist from Emily White (East Falmouth, MA). The Foresters eighth goal of the day was DeLuca's second. Jonathan scored her second goal of the day for the Foresters 9th goal. The Foresters final goal was scored in the final 15 seconds of the half as Caitlin Connors would make a dodge toward the goal after an out of bounds situation and score the final goal for the Foresters.
At the half, the Foresters committed a penalty that lead to a free shot that would get the Wildcats within 4. A missed slide on the next Wildcat possession lead to their 7th goal. A timeout by the Foresters, allowed the team to regroup, refocus, and reorganize. The Foresters would score three unanswered goals. The first by DeLuca to score her third of the game, on a "sick" pass from Lawrence from behind the net. White would roll the crease and score her first goal of the game to put the Foresters up 12-7. Leonardo would score the final Forester goal to put the red and black up 13-7. Freshman goalkeeper Barbara Wye (Burlington, MA) would make two saves on wide open shots to keep the Forester lead safe through a seven minute span for Lake Forest. Northwestern would score one additional goal to close out the scoring in the final six minutes.
On the day, the Foresters finished the day outshooting the Wildcats 28-16. The Forester goalies were able to 50% of the shots on the day.
The Foresters defense was paced by Lawrence and Erica Alto (Lindenhurst, IL) who each collected six ground balls a piece. Alto and Sam Herron (Clinton Township, MI) both recorded two interceptions on the day. Dwing Maeve Connelly (Lemont, IL) and Defender Malaika McCoy (Cincinnati, OH) provided stout defense against the efficient transition of the Wildcats.
Leading Scorers on the day:
Deluca- 3 goals
Jonathan- 2 goals, 2 assists
Milligan- 3 goals
Lawrence- 1 goal, 2 assists
Leonardo- 1 goals
White- 1 goal, 1 assist
Connors- 1 goal
Hayne- 1 goal
Monday, March 21, 2011
Foresters Continue Winning Ways!!
The Foresters started off their inaugural season with an exciting 12-10 win over Wheaton on Wednesday evening before heading down to play in the "Auggie Playday" this past Sunday.
The Foresters made the drive down to the Quad Cities for a double header against host team Augustana University, and WCLL opponent Loyola University. The Foresters went into the game excited to play AU who has declared for NCAA Division III play next season. Many of their club team members have come to Augustana with the purpose of joining the varsity team next year.
The first game of the day was a very fast paced game, that saw both teams getting up and down the field with great zeal. The Foresters possessed the ball for the first four minutes of the game, and created six shots on goal, but none of the shots got past the Augustana keeper. Augustana would create a turnover and run their fast break up the field to perfection. A Forester penalty inside the 8m line would give the Vikings a penalty shot on Forester keeper Barbara Wye. Despite Wye's deflection the ball, it trickled into the net.
The Foresters would respond with two goals of their own. The first from sophomore Sarah Milligan (Vernon Hills, IL) on an isolation move. Freshman Amelia Lawrence (Oldwick, NJ) making her first appearance for the Foresters on the season scored on a penalty shot two minutes later giving the Foresters a 2-1 lead. Augustana would respond, scoring a goal off of a fast break opportunity to tie the game 2-2 with 3 minutes remaining in the first half. Augustana would close out the first half scoring as a deep clear off of a save by their keeper bounced off the turf and over a Forester defender, leading to a one on goalie situation that the Vikings were able to capitalize on. Going into the half down 3-2, the Foresters took solace in the fact that they had out shot the Vikings 21-4.
In the second half, the Foresters came out firing on all cylinders. In particular was sophomore Caitlin Connors (Dover, MA). Connors would score three goals in a row to bring the Foresters to a 5-3 lead. Her second goal was on a great "give and go" feed from fellow Massachusetts native Emily White (East Falmouth, MA). The third goal would lead to an Augustana timeout.
The Foresters defense would clamp down significantly, and second half goalie Jenn Caldwell would prove to be a wall against penalty shots stopping six shots from the 8m line in the second half, and nine shots overall.
Milligan would score her second goal of the day, on Emily White's second assist of the period, to put the Foresters up 6-3 at the 20 minute mark in the second half. Connors would record her fourth goal of the game, and seventh of the season soon after, extending the Forester lead to 7-3. Lawrence would assist on the goal. Augustana, not to be outdone would score back to back goals against the Forester defense. Sensing momentum, the home team's bench and crowd came alive.
After a timeout by the Foresters, they came out firing as White picked up a ground ball in the neutral zone which she would carry down the field be fouled inside the 8m line. White would convert on the penalty shot to quiet the Auggie sideline. The Foresters would close out the scoring on a penalty shot by Lawrence with under three minutes to go. The Foresters would win the following draw and possess the ball the rest of the way, preserving the 9-5 victory.
Center Erika Alto (Lindenhurst, IL) led the Foresters with 8 groundball pickups, and senior Sam Herron (Clinton Township, MI) recorded four deflections for the Foresters. The Forester defense forced 18 turnovers, paced by senior CC Hayne (St. Helena, CA) (4) and freshman Maeve Connelley (Lemont, IL) (3) in the game.
The Foresters out shot Augustana 33-14.
In the second game of the double header, the Foresters took on Loyola University. The Foresters would jump out to an early lead against the Ramblers. As Milligan would pick up where she left off in the first game, scoring the Foresters first goal. This would be the third time in three games that Milligan would score the first Forester goal. Emily White would score her second goal of the day for the Foresters second goal in the game, 45 seconds later. Caitlin Connors would score the Foresters third goal of the game giving Lake Forest a 3-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
Loyola would control the next draw and be fouled inside the 8m leading to a penalty shot. Caldwell would stop the shot, however a rebound put back by Loyola would give them their first goal against the Foresters. White would respond with her second goal of the game to return the Foresters to a three goal lead.
CC Hayne, who moved to Dwing, from her usual defensive position took a ground ball the length of the field and scored her first career goal at the midway point of the first half to give the Foresters a 5-1 lead. Loyola would respond with a goal of their own to make the score 5-2.
Lake Forest would close out the first half scoring with goals by Erika Alto, her first career goal, and Amelia Lawrence. To go into half-time with a 7-2 lead.
At halftime, Coach Catanzaro made a number of substitutions, and multiple players would find their way into the stat ledger. Scoring goals for the Foresters in the second half were Sarah Jonathan [Clayton,CA] (1), CC Hayne (1), Brittany Sheehan [Arlington Heights,IL] (1), Danielle Leonardo [Springfield, VT] (2), and closing out the scoring for the Foresters on her first shot as a lacrosse player was sophomore Eileen Newcomer (Winnebago,IL). Sheehan's goal was in her first game as a lacrosse player, and on her first shot as well.
The Foresters would win by a final of 13-6, with the Forester starters playing minimally in the second half. Forester goalkeepers would 6 of 12 shots on goal during the game. The Foresters out shot Loyola 23-12 in the game.
The Foresters recorded 41 ground ball pickups in the game, and forced 26 turnovers. Jonathan, Hayne, and Amanda Forsyth (Chino, CA) paced the Foresters recording six ground balls each. Lawrence and Forsyth both recorded two interceptions each and Leonardo and Stacy Dierking (Crystal Lake, IL) recorded three deflections each.
The Foresters return to action for their first home game of the season on Farwell Field against Northwestern University on Tuesday March 29th at 4:30pm.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
FORESTERS TOP THUNDER IN FIRST-EVER WOMEN'S LACROSSE GAME
The Lake Forest College Women's Lacrosse Team started as a compliment to the men's program that was re-born in 2007. If the first game in the team's history against Wheaton on Wednesday is any indication, the Women's team may be on pace to join the men as an elite Midwestern lacrosse program.
This game was an educational experience for many of the girls as 17 of the 28 girls had never been involved in a lacrosse game before. "It was great to walk out onto the field before the game. We did things that we would have done on day one of practice if we had been outside. Our fields aren't lined yet due to weather, and it was the first time that some of the girls had seen a crease, 8 meter line, restraining line, etc. We had kind of a lacrosse 101 clinic the first 15 minutes that we were there," said Coach Catanzaro.
Coach Catanzaro got his own education prior to the game by the officials, as the goalie helmet was declared to be missing a required piece. "That was interesting, because we were kind of in a position of not having a lot of options. Fortunately, my liberal arts education came into play, and we were able to make an adjustment that the officials deemed acceptable, and the helmet was declared legal," Catanzaro declared.
On the opening draw, the Foresters controlled the ball, and went right down the field and had a shot on goal that ricocheted off the post wide. This would be a theme for the Foresters throughout the night as they had nine shots that hit the post, but missed the goal during the game.
Wheaton would jump out to a 2-0 lead before Sarah Milligan (Vernon Hills, IL) netted the first goal in Forester history. After a yellow card for an illegal check was issued to the Foresters, they found themselves playing a "man-down." Wheaton would take advantage of the situation and increase their lead to 3-1. At this point, things were looking dim for the Foresters. The Foresters had been creating scoring opportunities, but had been failing to convert.
Lake Forest would show some resiliency and storm back over the Thunder, scoring 5 unanswered goals. Caitlin Connors (Dover, MA) would score her first goal to make the score 3-2. Senior Kristin DeLuca (Westport, CT) playing in her first lacrosse game in four years, scored a goal on a nifty move around the crease for her first goal of the night to make it 3-3. Both goals were scored while the Foresters were still short-handed. Danielle Leonardo (Springfield, VT) picked up a ground ball and aggressively the cage for a goal around the 15 minute mark of the first half. On the sideline, it was noted that "this is the first lead in school history."
Deluca would score her second goal of the night to make the score 5-3. Milligan would notch her second goal of the night to close out the first half scoring 6-3. The Foresters went to half-time needing to address a number of issues that had arisen during the first game, and had a spirited half-time talk about continuing to increase their lead.
The talk must have worked, because two minutes into the second half, freshman Emily White (East Falmouth, MA) scored her first goal of the night to make the lead 7-3. Wheaton would roar (pun intended) back, and score two goals of their own to cut the lead to 7-5. The Foresters would receive their third goal from DeLuca a few minutes later to increase the lead to 8-5. The Foresters would go a "man-down" again and the Thunder fought back fiercely to tie the game at 8-8 just before the penalty expired.
The Foresters would answer with two goals to increase their lead back to 10-8. White scored back to back goals. The first on an underhand scoop shot to make it 9-8, and then she recorded her hat-trick on a power shot over the shoulder of the goalie. Wheaton would control the following draw and push a fast break down field at the Foresters, gaining an advantage and scoring a goal to cut the Forester lead to one.
Lake Forest gained possession of the ball and Connors collected a rebound, and quick sticked the ball past the goalie giving LFC a 11-9 lead. Wheaton would garner a penalty shot on their next possession and cut the lead to 11-10. Wheaton controlled the next draw, but their player was called for a dangerous follow-through at the 2:36 mark in the game. Thus putting the Foresters a "man-up" for the rest of the game.
Connors would close out the scoring for the game on the next possession, on a great pass from DeLuca. The Foresters would then run out the clock on their next possession and secure the programs first victory in their first attempt.
On defense, the Foresters were paced by CC Hayne (St. Helena, CA) and Malaika McCoy (Cincinnati, OH) who constantly pestered the Wheaton attack. Senior Sam Herron (Clinton Township, MI) in her first lacrosse game ever did a great job fighting for ground balls and hustling over the field for the Foresters.
Goalies Barbara Wye(Burlington, MA) and Jenn Caldwell (Glenview, IL) each played impressively during the game. Wye recorded 15 saves while Caldwell recorded 12 saves each.
The Foresters return to action on Sunday when they travel to Augustana College to play in the Auggie Play Day against Augustana at 2:00 and Loyola University at 3:30pm.
Friday, February 18, 2011
LFC WOMEN'S LACROSSE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED!
Head Coach Jim Catanzaro announced the 2011 schedule for the first-year Forester Women's Lacrosse team. Coach "Cat" described the schedule as, "challenging, and competitive from top to bottom."
The Foresters will open the season, just three days after returning from Spring Break against Wheaton College at 7pm. The Thunder had a weather shortened season in 2010, only playing one of their five scheduled games.
After Wheaton, the Foresters turn around and play Augustana College. The Augustana team is in its last year as a club program, before moving up to NCAA Division III in 2012. Augustana was 5-5 in 2010, scoring wins over Loyola, Marquette, Butler, and twice over Knox College.
The Foresters then return to Farwell Field for their first home contest of their new program. The Foresters will take fellow North Shore institution Northwestern University. The Wildcats participate in the WCLL Division I West Conference. Coach Cat,"It will be a great opportunity to play a very good program. Northwestern's Club team often recieves a boost in talent after their Division I program makes cuts. Our men's program has developed a nice rivalry with the NWU Club Team, and I think it will be a great relationship with them for the future."
The Foresters will then attend the Marquette University playdate on April 2nd. The Foresters will play three games on the playdate against Marquette, Aquinas (MI), and Ripon College. "This will be an interesting day. Aquinas was 18-1 last year. Their only loss was against Oakland University in the championship game. Aquinas has a great coaching staff, and operates as a "virtual varsity" program. We will also be playing Ripon, who is in their first year as a program. This will be a great opportunity to see where we fit in the food chain of club lacrosse. The Ripon game will give us a chance to see how we stack up against another Midwest Conference school who is just starting out. The game against Aquinas will let us know how well we can compete on a national level."
The Foresters will follow up the three game playdate with a double header date at home on the following day. The Foresters will entertain DePaul University and Knox College. "This will give us a second opportunity in two days to play a Midwest Conference school in Knox. Knox has had a club lacrosse program for the past 6 years. They will have had an opportunity to have played a few years and have worked out some of the kinks of a club team. I think that our girls will be looking forward to this game. In addition, DePaul was 8-3 last year (15-5 over two years)competing at the Division I Club Level. They are a very talented team, and one that will give us a great challenge."
The next weekend, the Foresters host a single game at home vs. St. Mary's University. The Foresters finish up the regular season with a double header against divisional foes University of Chicago and Loyola University.
"I think that this is a very balanced and competitive schedule. I feel that we will have a lot of opportunities to create success, but there also be some major challenges during the course of the season. We will have some tough weekends with five or six games. We will have to be in great shape, and stay healthy in order to give ourselves a great chance to compete in every game," closed Coach Catanzaro.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
LFC announces the return of Women's Lacrosse to campus!
The Foresters will be coached by Jim Catanzaro. Coach "Cat" has spent the past four springs coaching the Men's Lacrosse Program, which he helped return to the LFC Campus in the spring of 2007. Over the past four seasons, Coach "Cat" has lead the team from independent, to being a prominent member of the Great Lakes Lacrosse League. Since joining the GLLL the Foresters are 23-9 (.710 Winning Percentage)against conference opponents. Taking over the Men's program for the Foresters will be John Combs, the former Head Coach of the Chicago Machine.
It has been a great honor coaching the Men's Club Lacrosse team. I feel that having started from scratch in 2007, to where we are now, was a tremendous accomplishment. We have established ourselves as a top contender for the league crown. I look forward to working with Coach Combs as we go through this transitionary period.
I am extremely excited about the new women's program, and where we will be able to go with it. I anticipate that we will be immediately competitive. The intereste on campus has been extremely strong and energetic. At our most recent meeting, there were 31 girls, and more than half of those interested have played lacrosse competitively before. Lacrosse is a natural fit for LFC, and it is the fastest growing sport in the country. There is no doubt in mind, that we have a great opportunity to help further cemenet Lake Forest as a Midwest lacrosse powerhouse.
When Coach Catanzaro was asked the differences between the men's and women's lacrosse programs, he replied with a smile,"They are two totally different sports. the only two things that are the same are the ball and the shape of the goals that are used. Whether you are talking about the schemes, skills, or player personalities, there is truly minimal similarities at best."
Senior CC Hayne quipped,"I have been hoping that a lacrosse program for girls would be started at LFC since my freshman year. I can't wait for us to get started."
Junior Erika Alto said,"It has been awesome to see the enthusiasm that some of the girls have for the sport. I am excited to learn the nuances of the game, and I am looking forward to seeing us play our first game!"
The Foresters will open up with a game at Wheaton College on March 16th at 7pm.