LFC WOMEN'S LACROSSE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED!

The Lake Forest College Women's Lacrosse Schedule features contests against four division I schools, and the team that finished second in the WCLL Division II in 2010!


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.

LFC announces the return of Women's Lacrosse to campus!

Lake Forest College is pleased to announce the start of the Women's Club Lacrosse Team for the spring of 2011. The program will be playing as a part of the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League, (WCLL)and play in the Division 2 Northwest Region with DePaul, the University of Chicago, and Loyola University.

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.