The Lake Forest College Lacrosse team found themselves in a nip and tuck battle with a team they had defeated just five days prior when they hosted the DePaul Blue Demons on Sunday afternoon at Farwell Field.
The Foresters would jump out to an early 4-1 lead over DePaul as Emily White would score the first two goals for Lake Forest sandwiched around DePaul's first goal. Freshman Lindsey Jewett would score her first goal of the game to help extend the Forester lead to three. Team captain Sarah Jonathan would convert a Free Position opportunity after making a long run with possession from her defender position. It was Sarah's first goal since moving from midfield to the defense mid-season.
DePaul would begin to push back against the Foresters as they would convert a free position opportunity, and then take a draw control down field quickly to cut the lead to 4-3.
White would score her third goal of the first fifteen minutes of the game before Amelia Lawrence would give the black and red a 6-3 lead after a pass from White lead to a quick strike goal. DePaul would rally and tally their fourth goal of the half, cutting the lead to 6-4. On the next draw, Jewett would score her second goal of the half, with White assisting once again. DePaul would score their fifth goal of the day before White would close out the first half scoring with her fourth goal of the morning. The goal would give White her sixth point of the first half.
In a play that appeared to be a continuation of the first half, Lawrence would score her second goal of the game on an assist from White. The Blue Demons would go on a four goal run during the first 11 minutes to tie the game at 9-9. DePaul would take their first lead of the game at 10-9, before Caitlin Connors would tally her first goal of the game on a fantastic pass from freshman Laura Reckdenwald to make the game 10-10. The Blue Demons would score the next two goals as they controlled consecutive draw controls to take a 12-10 lead with 11:12 remaining.
A time out by Coach Catanzaro, would be followed by the Foresters score from Emily White who made an impressive dodge to the crease before defeating the DePaul goalie.
Sarah Milligan, the teams leading scorer coming into the game, would convert her first goal of the game to tie the game 12-12 at the 4:14 mark of the game.
As has been the story for the Foresters all season, they received a huge spark off the bench. Today would not be any different. Freshman Marissa Weber would scoop up the ensuing draw control and carry it deep into the Foresters offensive end. Weber would get the ball to Caitlin Connors who would roll the crease, but would misfire into the side of the net. Weber and Connors would both pursue the errant shot, and Connors would gain control. She would take another charge at the goal, but a DePaul foul would be called. Connors would take the ball behind the net, and set up what looked like another roll of the crease. As the Blue Demon defense slid to help, Jewett would move into an open spot in front of the net. Connors would pass the ball, and Jewett would not hesitate on the shot as she put the ball past the DePaul goalie.
Jewett would record her second hat trick of her freshman campaign, and her second against DePaul in as many games. In addition, Jewett recorded four draw controls on the day to lead the Foresters.
Defensively, the Foresters were paced by Maeve Connelley who recorded five caused turnovers and five ground ball pickups. Lawrence would have another three point game with two goals and an assist. She also recorded five ground ball pickups and three draw controls. Sophomore Amanda Forsyth was second on the team with three caused turnovers, providing the Foresters with some crucial extra possessions in the second half.
Sophomore goalie Barbara Wye had a difficult game in goal as she was peppered with 24 shots, of which she saved 12. Most impressively, Wye stopped four of the six Free Position Shots that she faced.
"I am thrilled with our girls and the way that they performed in this game. This was the biggest challenge that we have faced since our St. Mary's game, and it was good to see us make the necessary plays to win the game. In two years, we have had a lot of success, but this game meant a lot to our team. To win the division outright, and not experience a loss in our division was a great accomplishment. Our girls made a strong commitment early in the season, and they have been able to take the coaching, and continue to improve as a team. I am looking forward to seeing how we stack up as we move onto the WCLL Tournament at Ohio State next week," said Head Coach Jim Catanzaro.
Watch the game winning goal sequence here:
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