APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team hits the road after Thanksgiving for a pair of nonconference games this weekend. Lawrence travels to St. Olaf College for Saturday night game and then heads north to St. John’s University for a Sunday afternoon tilt.
Author: Joseph Vanden Acker
Men’s basketball preview: Lawrence vs. UW-Stevens Point
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team takes on UW-Stevens Point Saturday as the Vikings play their home opener at Alexander Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Vikings post another shutout win over Finlandia
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University made it two shutouts in a row with a 5-0 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Finlandia University on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Mattias Soderqvist stopped 18 shots to earn his third career shutout for the Vikings (3-3-1, 3-1-0 NCHA), who won 4-0 on Friday night. This marks the first time Lawrence has posted consecutive shutouts since a sweep of Northland on Feb. 6-7, 2009.
Lawrence piled up 37 shots and went 3-for-8 on the power play. The Vikings held Finlandia to 0-for-7 on the man-advantage on Saturday and 0-for-13 on the weekend.
The Vikings got on the board early with some superb individual moves from sophomore forward Nick Felan. Blake Roubos dug the puck out along the boards and passed to Felan, who streaked past a trio of Finlandia defenders and scored at the 6:28 mark of the first period.
Finlandia’s Cody Wickstrom got sent off for tripping just 24 seconds later, and the Vikings cashed in on the power play. Sean Reynolds scored his second goal of the season off assists from Josh Koepplinger and Daniel Gysi to make it 2-0 at the 7:23 mark.
Lane King then added a goal with six minutes left in the period off assists from Felix Henriksson and Jake Roeper for a 3-0 Lawrence advantage after the first.
A rare slew-footing penalty on Finlandia (0-8-0, 0-6-0) gave Lawrence a five-minute power play midway through the second period, and the Vikings scored twice.
Evan Ketner scored at the 8:25 mark, and Reed Gregory scored his first collegiate goal at the 11:01 mark to put Lawrence up 5-0. Gysi and Koepplinger earned their second assists of the night on Gregory’s goal.
Walker Enstad allowed all five goals and took the loss for Finlandia after making 17 saves. Matt Young came on in relief and stopped 15 shots.
Vikings roll to shutout win over Finlandia
APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University goaltender Evan Cline earned his first career shutout Friday as the Vikings rolled to a 4-0 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Finlandia University at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Cline stopped 16 shots and improved to 2-0-0 on the season for the Vikings (2-3-0, 2-1-0 NCHA). Lawrence posted a 33-16 edge in shots.
Lawrence got goals from four different players to pick up its second consecutive victory.
The Vikings got on the board with 5:07 left in the opening period when they took advantage of a two-man advantage. Evan Ketner scored off assists from Matt Montemurro and Austin Frank to put Lawrence up 1-0.
The Vikings quickly made it 2-0 with a goal early in the second period. Ryan Eardley popped in his own rebounds as Frank and Jake Roeper picked up assists on the tally just 1:33 into the period.
The Vikings then scored with just 46 seconds left in the second period when Blake Roubos pounced on a rebound and scored for a 3-0 edge.
Josh Koepplinger, who picked up an assist on Roubos’ goal, added an empty-netter with 1:15 remaining in the third to close out the scoring.
Alec Rounds made 29 saves and took the loss for Finlandia (0-7-0, 0-5-0).
The teams wrap up the series Saturday afternoon.
Deveikis’ 3-pointer in final seconds lifts Vikings over Marian
APPLETON, Wis. — Lauren Deveikis buried a 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left Thursday to lift the Lawrence University women’s basketball team to a 51-48 nonconference win over Marian University at Alexander Gymnasium.
Olivia Hoesley led Lawrence and all scorers with a career-high 19 points as the Vikings improved to 2-0 on the season. Leah Reeves added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Vikings, and Grace Minogue chipped in with seven points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Nicole Paulus paced Marian (0-2) with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Carley Wilson came off the bench to add 10 points and nine boards.
Lawrence had its biggest lead of the fourth quarter after Minogue’s three-point play put the Vikings up 44-38 with 5:16 left. Paulus scored the next six points for Marian to cut the margin to 46-44.
Hoesley countered with a jumper for the Vikings, but Wilson hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 48-47 with 1:36 remaining. The teams exchanged missed shots before Wilson was fouled with 11 seconds left. She made one free throw to tie the game at 48-48.
The Vikings took a timeout to set up the final play and Minogue drove to the right side of the lane. Minogue was nearly knocked down by a Marian player but got the ball to Deveikis, who drained the 3-pointer from the corner for the win.
Paulus got off a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer that was well off the mark.
Lawrence jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with the help of five points from Hoesley. The Sabres rallied and trimmed the lead to 20-14 after the first quarter. Lawrence went ice cold in the second quarter and was limited to just two points as Marian took a 26-22 lead at the half.
The Vikings bounced back in the third quarter and went on an 11-1 run, capped by Nicole Cummins’ 3-pointer, to grab a 33-27 edge. The Vikings would lead 35-31 after three quarters.
This marks the first time Lawrence has started a season with a 2-0 record since the 2005-06 campaign.
Late run pushes Wisconsin Lutheran past Lawrence
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Wisconsin Lutheran College men’s basketball team held off Lawrence University 76-68 in a nonconference game Wednesday in the season opener at the Recreation Complex.
The Warriors went on a 13-4 run over a five-minute stretch to take a 67-58 lead with less than three minutes left. Lawrence hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes to get within four points twice but could get no closer.
Collin Kennedy and Tanner Schieve scored 17 points apiece to pace Wisconsin Lutheran. Kennedy also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Jeremy Stephani led Lawrence with 16 points, and Mitch Willer added 12 points, three rebounds and three blocks. Evan McLaughlin added 10 points for the Vikings, who hit just 8-of-35 shots (22.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
A pair of Willer free throws cut Wisconsin Lutheran’s lead to 55-54 with 7:50 remaining. The Warriors then went on the decisive run, hitting six consecutive free throws during that stretch, to stretch the lead to nine with 2:47 left.
The Vikings battled back as Pete Winslow hit a 3-pointer to trim the lead to 68-63. Rookie Quinn Fisher hit another 3-pointer for Lawrence to cut the lead to 70-66 with 45 seconds left.
The Warriors then hit six consecutive free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the win. Wisconsin Lutheran went 28-for-35 from the foul line in the game. Lawrence went 12-for-15.
In the opening half, Wisconsin Lutheran built a 29-20 lead with less than four minutes left before Lawrence rallied. Connor Weas scored four points and Fisher hit a 3-pointer to spark an 11-2 run that allowed Lawrence to forge a 31-31 tie at the break.
Hockey series preview: Lawrence vs. Finlandia
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team hosts Finlandia University in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series this weekend at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m., and the puck drops on Saturday’s game at 4 p.m. Friday’s game also serves as a fundraiser for the Appleton Police Benevolent Association.
Gostisha, Myers, Straughan chosen for All-MWC football team
APPLETON, Wis. — Three Lawrence University football players have been chosen for the All-Midwest Conference team in a vote of league coaches.
Linebacker Jake Gostisha (Appleton, Wis./East) was a first-team selection, and offensive tackle Jackson Straughan (Heber City, Utah/Wasatch) and cornerback Terrell Myers Jr. (Marietta, Ga./Marietta), were both named to the second team.
Gostisha, a junior, was chosen for the second consecutive year after earning second-team honors in 2015. Gostisha piled up 107 tackles on the season and finished third in the Midwest Conference at 10.7 tackles per game.
Gostisha is the first Lawrence player to record 100 tackles in a season since 2003, and his 107 tackles is the most for a Viking since Jacques Hacquebord had 112 in 2003. Gostisha recorded six double-digit tackle games during the season and had a career-high 15 tackles vs. Grinnell.
Gostisha, who had 6.5 tackles for loss, tied for the conference lead with five interceptions. He also picked up two pass breakups, forced one fumble and recovered another.
Myers was one of just three freshmen named to the all-conference team. He recorded 36 tackles, including 1.0 TFLs, and had a team-high seven pass breakups. Myers recorded a season-high eight tackles at Knox.
Myers also was one of the league’s most dangerous return men and was named the MWC Special Teams Player of the Week following a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown vs. Illinois College.
Myers led the conference and was fifth in NCAA Division III by averaging 32.6 yards per kickoff return. That broke the Lawrence record of 28.5 set by College Football Hall of Famer Scott Reppert in 1982.
Straughan, a senior tackle, was chosen for the second team for the second consecutive season. Straughan, who was paired with four freshmen starters, helped the Vikings finish third in the conference in rushing at 203.9 yards per game.
Big second half pushes Vikings past Maranatha
WATERTOWN, Wis. — A big third quarter jump-started the Lawrence University offense Tuesday, and the Vikings pulled away down the stretch for a 61-51 nonconference women’s basketball victory at Maranatha Baptist University.
After scoring just 21 points in the first half, the Vikings exploded for 27 third-quarter points. Lawrence, which shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the second half, clamped down and held the Sabercats to five points in the fourth quarter.
Nicole Cummins scored 15 points to pace Lawrence (1-0), and Aubrey Scott added 11 points for the Vikings. Hanna Glaze led Maranatha (0-1) with 18 points, and Hannah May had 17.
Grace Minogue hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-0 Lawrence run in the third quarter that turned a 33-26 deficit into a 36-33 lead. Scott buried a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter to give the Vikings a 48-46 lead after three quarters.
Lawrence led by five early in the fourth quarter, but Glaze hit a 3-pointer for the Sabercats with 6:06 left to trim the lead to 53-51. The Vikings held Maranatha without a point the rest of the way as Lawrence finished the game on an 8-0 run.
It was a balanced attack for the Vikings as Minogue, in her collegiate debut, Olivia Hoesley scored eight points apiece. Shonell Benjamin, also in her debut for the Vikings, scored six points to go with five assists, four rebounds and four steals.
The Lawrence defense forced 34 Maranatha turnovers, and the Vikings came up with 12 steals.
Men’s basketball preview: Lawrence at Wisconsin Lutheran
APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team opens its season on Wednesday when the Vikings travel to Wisconsin Lutheran College for a nonconference game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Recreation Complex on the Wisconsin Lutheran campus.