In the third game of the of the Marquette play day Lake Forest faced off against familiar foe Wheaton College. In 2011, the Thunder were the Foresters first game in the new era of lacrosse at Lake Forest. Coming off of a disappointing loss against St. Mary's, the Foresters were excited to get back on the field.
The game started quickly and positively for the Foresters, as Sophomore Amelia Lawrence won the opening draw control and finished the possession with a quick shot past the Wheaton goalie. Fellow attack wing, Danielle Leonardo, sniped the second goal shortly after, on an assist from Freshman Lindsay Jewett, giving the Foresters an early 2-0 lead.
Wheaton would record their first tally on the score board on a free position shot, to cut the Forester lead in half 2-1. Massachusetts native Emily White, who was playing in front of a large group of family and friends, took possession of the ball, and aggressively attacked the right side of the cage, before being picked up by a Thunder defender. After a roll dodge, and switching to her left hand, White slipped the ball past the goalie to the back of the net. Wheaton answered with another goal, to make it a one-point game, until Jewett contributed her second goal to the game after the next draw. Junior Sarah Milligan passed the ball from behind the net to Jewett as she streaked into the eight meter arc. Jewett quickly caught the ball and shot, all in one motion, scoring the next goal for the Foresters.
Wheaton would gain their greatest wave of momentum on the ensuing two possessions scoring two unanswered goals against the Foresters, leading to a time out by Coach Catanzaro at the 13:46 mark remaining in the first half.
"During the time out we realized that possession, patience, and poise were going to be key. The initial part of the game involved such frantic scoring, that we were caught off guard," said team co-captain Amelia Lawrence. "We knew that we could really extend the lead if we just took care of the ball."
Tied 4-4, Wheaton would score the first goal after the time out, only to ignite a Forester rally to close out the first half. The Foresters scored six unanswered goals to close out the first half, and take a 10-5 lead into halftime.
The fifth goal was scored by Milligan on a pass from Sophomore Sarah Jonathon. Freshman Erin Shamley received a pass from Milligan and pushed the ball into the goal on a nifty shovel shot. Lawrence and Shamley scored the seventh and eighth goals, respectively, off of free position shots, while Leonardo used her fancy footwork around the crease to score her second goal of the game. The final first half tally was scored by Freshman and Connecticut native Laura Reckdenwald off of a free position of a Thunder shooting space violation.
With a five goal lead, Coach Catanzaro decided to give goalie Barbara Wye the rest of the day off, and moved Junior Jenn Caldwell from her defensive post into goal. Caldwell, who split time with Wye in 2011 made the most of her time goal and recorded 8 second half saves. Wye finished the first half with 9 saves.
To open the second half, the Foresters controlled the draw, and took painstaking effort to execute their offensive set. Lawrence would eventually find Jonathan in front of the goal for quick score. The Foresters would record four more unanswered goals taking their streak to 11 unanswered goals, while extending their lead to 15-5.
The Foresters found success both in set plays and in transition. During a set piece, Shamley was able to find Milligan for an easy goal. Emily White drove to goal for her second of the game, much to the delight of the Massachusetts contingent on hand.
Freshman Torey Crown, new to the sport of lacrosse, scored her first goal of the season coming on a fantastic goal created by a high fake and low shot. Defensive star Maeve Connelly found the back of the net after drawing a foul inside the 8-meter.
Lawrence and Jonathon once again found goal scoring chemistry as Lawrence passed from behind the goal to Jonathon who beat her defender and shot in the upper corner of the net.
After Wheaton scored their first goal of the second half to cut the Forester lead to nine before Senior Maddie Levine answered with a hard shot past the goalie’s feet. Wheaton answered the goal to cut the score to 16-7. Wheaton would score again before freshman Shamley gained another free position opportunity and whipped the ball past the Thunder goalie. The velocity of the shot was so impressive, that there was silence from the bench, as the marveled at the shot she had made. Forester rookie Jackie Friedrich scored her first collegiate goal to end the scoring at 19-8.
The Foresters collected 17 ground balls, and created 13 turnovers. The Foresters outshot the Thunder 34-19.
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