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Lawrence dumps Blueboys to earn MWC Tournament berth

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s soccer team took control of the game early and went on to a 3-1 Midwest Conference victory at Illinois College on Sunday.

The win clinched a berth in the four-team MWC Tournament for the second consecutive season. Lawrence (7-9-1, 6-2-1 MWC) is the second seed and will play Beloit College on Friday in the semifinals at Carroll University.

The Vikings jumped on Illinois College early when Joe Cullen took a pass from Karl Mayer and scored at the 12:18 mark. Vince Butitta gave Lawrence a 2-0 lead at 27:09 when he scored off a pass from Stephen Exarhos.

The Blueboys trimmed the lead to 2-1 at 43:34, but Lawrence scored just 42 seconds later to take a 3-1 lead into the half. Freshman Oliver Newsom took a pass from his brother, Simon, and scored to restore Lawrence’s two-goal edge.

Freshman goalkeeper Taiju Oki had to make only one save to pick up the win. Lawrence outshot the Blueboys 11-5.

Box score

Vikings clinch MWC Tournament berth with win over Lady Blues

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Mallory Koula scored a pair of goals, and the Lawrence University women’s soccer team beat Illinois College 3-1 on Sunday to earn a berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament.

Lawrence, the 2010 MWC Tournament champion, will play host St. Norbert College in the semifinals on Friday. The win, coupled with Ripon College’s loss at Grinnell College on Saturday, gave the Vikings the final spot in the tournament.

Lawrence (7-10-1, 5-3-1 MWC) fell behind after giving up a goal in the third minute. The Vikings rebounded quickly when Koula took a pass from Cadence Peckham and scored at the 8:12 mark.

Koula then scored what proved to be the game-winner just 2:56 into the second half to give Lawrence a 2-1 edge. The Vikings added another goal on Ellie Galvin’s penalty kick at 54:13.

Cassie Burke made eight saves to pick up the win for the Vikings.

Box score

Vikings take MWC cross country title as Stevens wins individual crown

RIPON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s cross country team took home all the hardware at the Midwest Conference Championships on Saturday at Ripon College.

The Vikings won the team title for the first time since 1985, and junior Sam Stevens captured the first individual men’s title for Lawrence since 1985.

Lawrence took the team title with 51 points, edging Grinnell College by just two points. The win by Lawrence snapped Grinnell’s 14-year stranglehold on the trophy.

“I’m really happy,” said Lawrence coach Jason Fast, who was named Coach of the Year. “The team worked really hard all year, and they deserve all the credit in the world. They definitely earned it today.”

Fast said they were tracking the results as the runners crossed the line, and he believed his team had won.

“I had a pretty good idea, but you never know,” Fast said. “It was too close to call. I knew unofficially we had won, but we had to sweat it out and wait for the results.”

Stevens led the contingent of five runners to earn all-conference honors (the top 20 finishers are  all-conference) for the Vikings. Stevens won the 8,000-meter race in 25:09.11 to become Lawrence’s first individual champion since Eric Griffin won back-to-back crowns in 1984 and 1985. It also marked the third consecutive year Stevens has been an all-conference performer.

“Sam led wire-to-wire,” Fast said. “That was part of the plan. We needed him to do that and stretch the field out. It worked for us. There was nobody that was going to touch him today.”

Sophomore Curran Carlile and freshman Kyle Dockery finished fifth and sixth, respectively, for the Vikings. Carlile finished in 25:37.79 and Dockery came in at 25:40.04. Sophomore Jamie Brisbois was 19th in 26:23.13, and senior Sam Estrem rounded out the scoring in 20th in 26:29.27.

On the women’s side, senior Emily Muhs earned all-conference honors for the third consecutive season while leading the Vikings to a fifth-place finish.

Lawrence, which finished seventh last season, finished with 166 points. The Vikings edged Beloit (168) and Ripon (169) to finish in the upper half of the conference.

Muhs finished 12th and completed the 6,000-meter course in 22:32.97. Rosie Graber came in 30th, Anna Ratliff was 36th, Maggie Mahaffa was 41st and Cathy Kaye rounded out the scoring in 47th.

Results

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings taking a run at the title

The Lawrence University men’s cross country team snuck up on the competition a little bit at the 2010 Midwest Conference Championships.

No such luck this year because the Vikings are coming up as fast as a Mack truck in your rear-view mirror.

After finishing sixth at the 2009 conference meet, the Vikings jumped up to second last season and are contenders for the title on Saturday. The meet begins with the women’s race at 11 a.m., and the men run at noon on the course just west of the Ripon College campus.

“I think it puts more pressure on everyone else,” Lawrence coach Jason Fast said. “Last year the other teams didn’t feel that pressure to beat us. Now we’re legitimate contenders. They know we’re going to be up there and have to take us seriously.”

The Vikings return four of their top five men’s runners from a season ago, including all-conference honorees Sam Stevens and Curran Carlile.

Stevens, a junior from Suamico, Wis., finished third last season and is the top returning runner in the league. Stevens is attempting to be the first men’s conference champion from Lawrence since Eric Griffin won back-to-back titles in 1984 and 1985. Carlile grabbed seventh as a freshman in 2010 and has been the Vikings’ No. 2 runner all season.

“Sam’s the top returner and he hasn’t lost to a runner from the Midwest Conference all year,” Fast said. “He would be very disappointed if he didn’t win. We need him to win. I think the team race is going to be a point or two either way. It’s not going to be a landslide victory. Every spot counts.”

The Vikings are looking to wrest the championship trophy away from Grinnell College, which is working on a streak of 14 consecutive league titles.

“It’s going to take a great effort,” Fast said. “You can’t have a lackluster effort and win a championship, especially this year. This will be Grinnell going for 15 in a row and that’s a big deal. I fully expect Grinnell to throw everything at us this weekend and have their best race.”

Fast said the team ran one of its best races of the 2010 season at the MWC Championships. Given the team’s focus on winning the conference title, he believes the same thing can happen on Saturday.

“We’ve been talking about it for a really long time now. We’ve been talking about winning it since the beginning of the season,” Fast said. “As we started to see it progress, it’s taken on a life of its own. They’ve responded really well to it. They were ready to go this last weekend.”

The Lawrence women are also looking to move up after taking seventh in 2010. Leading the way for Lawrence is senior Emily Muhs of Janesville, Wis. Muhs finished seventh last season and earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive season.

“Emily wants to improve. She wants to be top five,” Fast said. “We’d like her to be top five. That would really help us in the team race. A lot of the teams we’re competing with don’t have that low number at the top.

“She’s progressed slowly this year but she is coming along. She generally has her best races of the year at conference.”

Fast also believes sophomore Anna Ratliff and freshman Maggie Mahaffa can reach the top 20 and earn all-conference honors as well.

“They’ve both been racing really well all season,” Fast said of Ratliff and Mahaffa. “They have continuously improved from meet to meet. I think if they can continue that at conference, they will have a shot to be in the top 20.”

Win and they’re in

Both the Lawrence men’s soccer team and volleyball team need a win and they are in their respective four-team conference tournaments.

Men’s soccer travels to Illinois College on Saturday, and a victory would put the Vikings (6-9-1, 5-2-1 MWC) in the MWC Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Vikings have won six of the last seven meetings against the Blueboys, but Lawrence needed overtime to win the match last season.

The volleyball team is looking for its first trip to the MWC Tournament since it went to its current four-team format in 2008.

Lawrence (12-17, 5-2 MWC) plays at Beloit on Friday and then travels to Lake Forest on Saturday. One win gets the Vikings in the tournament, and a pair of victories would assure Lawrence of no worse than the third seed.

Win and help needed

The Lawrence women’s soccer team needs a win in the regular-season finale Illinois College on Saturday and some help to get into the MWC Tournament for the second straight season.

The Vikings are 4-3-1 in the league (6-10-1 overall) and tied with Monmouth and Ripon for the final conference tournament spot. Lawrence, the defending MWC Tournament champion, holds the tiebreaker over Monmouth, but Ripon has the tiebreaker against the Vikings. Ripon does have to travel to Grinnell (5-1-1 MWC) for its final league contest.

History should be on the side of the Vikings, who are 13-0-0 in the series with Illinois College.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Koula scores twice as Vikings shut out Lake Forest

Mallory Koula scored twice as the Lawrence University women’s soccer team posted a 2-0 Midwest Conference victory over Lake Forest College on Sunday at Whiting Field West.

The Vikings improved to 4-3-1 in Midwest Conference play and kept alive their hopes for a berth in the four-team league tournament. Lawrence won the 2010 MWC Tournament.

Koula gave the Vikings the lead early when she scored at 7:53. Keli Muchowski played the ball ahead to Jennifer Angeli, who fed Koula. Koula beat goalkeeper Bri Schleibinger for her 17th goal of the season.

Koula made it 3-0 at 32:07 when she took a pass from Muchowski and scored again. The goal gave Koula 137 points for her career, which broke the Lawrence record. Megan Tiemann, who played from 1998-2001, held the record at 135.

Cassie Burke made four saves to pick up the victory.

Box score

Koula’s hat trick powers Lawrence past Knox

Mallory Koula recorded a natural hat trick to lead the Lawrence University women’s soccer team to a 5-3 Midwest Conference victory over Knox College on Saturday at Whiting Field West.

Koula scored three times in the first half to help stake Lawrence to a 4-1 lead at the break. Koula, a senior forward, now has 16 goals on the season.

Lawrence got on the board in the sixth minute when Jennifer Angeli settled a cross that got past Knox goalkeeper Emily Turner and put it in the back of the net.

Koula then got her first goal at the 23:56 mark off passes from Angeli and Natalie Wolf. After a quick goal from Knox, Koula countered with two goals in a span of less than three minutes late in the first half.

Koula scored at the 40:08 mark and then scored again at 42:39 after a short goal kick to give Lawrence a commanding lead at the break.

Sarah Tiano scored her first collegiate goal just 37 seconds into the second half to give Lawrence a 5-1 lead. The Prairie Fire added a pair of late goals to narrow the margin.

Cassie Burke made only one save in 75-plus minutes 0f action to earn the win for Lawrence.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings take on challenge of Division I opponent

Joel DePagter is looking for history to repeat itself.

The three times the Lawrence University men’s basketball team has opened its season with an exhibition game against a NCAA Division I opponent, the Vikings have gone on to win the Midwest Conference championship that season.

Lawrence opens its 2011-12 campaign with an exhibition game at UW-Green Bay on Nov. 4. The game tips off at 7 p.m. at the Kress Center.

“Hopefully, history repeats itself,” said DePagter, who enters his fifth season as Lawrence’s coach.

This is the second time Lawrence has faced UWGB in an exhibition game. The Phoenix defeated the Vikings 87-62 back in November 2007. Lawrence also has played Wisconsin (2005) and UW-Milwaukee (2004) in exhibition games.

DePagter has known UWGB coach Brian Wardle for a number of years, and the two had talked about having Lawrence face the Phoenix again.

“I said we’d love to have the opportunity, and it’s been a couple of years since we’ve done it,” DePagter said. “We were able to find a date where we could play and they were willing to play us. We thank Green Bay for the opportunity.”

The Vikings are looking forward to stepping into a different atmosphere against a very talented opponent.

“It’s simple,” DePagter said when asked what the Vikings get out of playing a Division I opponent. “The opportunity to play on that stage. It’s a great opportunity for our guys to play in a different kind of arena, experience the D1 world a little bit.

“It can help you. We don’t see the 7-foot guys or the athletes that they are going to have. You see those guys and it make the 6-8 guy from UW-Stevens Point not seem so big. Anything you can do to offer the guys something different is huge. If I can reward them by getting something like this set up, it’s the least I can do.”

And what’s in it for the Phoenix?

“I hope for their sake, because they gave us the opportunity, that we can do some things that will help them. I’d like it to happen again, so if they can get something out of it, the chances of it happening again are higher,” DePagter said.

“They are going to get to see some great motion and have to defend. Between us and St. Norbert, they aren’t going to see any better motion in (the Horizon League).”

To purchase tickets, go to greenbayphoenix.com. The link for tickets is under the Fan Central tab. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children.

Nobody faster than Koula

Lawrence women’s soccer star Mallory Koula, a senior forward from Kimberly, was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week after her record-setting scoring outburst against Beloit last Saturday.

It turns out that Koula’s three goals in 42 seconds against the Bucs are the fastest three consecutive goals in NCAA history. No player, male or female in any division, has scored three straight goals faster than Koula. Among the notables that Koula eclipsed was former University of Florida star Abby Wambach, who scored three goals for the Gators in a Division I record 2:02.

Koula, who finished with four goals against Beloit, also broke the Lawrence career scoring record and has 56 goals.

Stevens a winner again

Lawrence cross country star Sam Stevens was named the MWC Performer of the Week for the second time this season after his run at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational last Saturday.

Running in an elite field, the junior from Suamico finished 47th in 26:02.29, which truly separated him from the conference competition at the meet. Stevens was 51 places ahead of the next runner from the MWC.

Mann takes defensive award

Lawrence men’s soccer standout Charlie Mann was chosen as the MWC Defensive Player of the Week. Mann, a sophomore defender, picked up the award after helping Lawrence to a pair of victories last week.

Playing in the center of the Lawrence defense, Mann spearheaded the defensive effort in a 2-0 win at Ripon last Wednesday. He then shut down Beloit star Jackson Wilkins in Lawrence’s 2-1 overtime victory over the Bucs this past Saturday.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Stevens picks up MWC weekly award for second time this season

Lawrence University men’s cross country star Sam Stevens has been named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week for the second time this season.

Stevens (Suamico, Wis./Bay Port) won the award after his performance at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational this past Saturday. Running in a field of elite teams from around the Midwest, Stevens covered the 8,000-meter course at Lake Breeze Golf Club in 26:02.29 to finish 47th.

Stevens was the top finisher among all the Midwest Conference competitors at the meet. Stevens finished 51 places higher than the next finisher from the league.

Stevens also won the MWC Performer of the Week award after winning the St. Norbert College Tom Barry Invitational on Sept. 3.

Koula picks up MWC weekly award in wake of record-setting game

Lawrence University women’s soccer star Mallory Koula has been named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week after a record-setting game this past Saturday.

Koula (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly), a senior forward, broke a pair of NCAA records in Lawrence’s 6-1 victory over Beloit College. Koula broke the NCAA Division III record for the fastest three consecutive goals when she scored three times in a span of only 42 seconds. Koula’s three goals also broke the team record for the fastest three consecutive goals.

The individual record for the fastest three consecutive goals was 1:07 by Jamie Sims of Otterbein back in 2002. The team record of 52 seconds was set by Emory back in 1989.

Koula’s record-setting binge is the fastest by any soccer player, male or female, in NCAA history. The fastest three goals at Division I are 2:02 by Florida’s Abby Wambach and 2:15 by John Stone of SIU-Edwardsville. The Division II records are 1:09 by Ashley Elsass of Grand Valley and 2:52 by UW-Parkside’s Andre Francois. The men’s Division III record is 1:09 by Mike Pepe of Ohio Wesleyan.

Koula added a fourth goal later in the match and broke Lawrence’s career scoring record. Koula now has 56 goals for her career, and that breaks the mark of 55, set by Megan Tiemann from 1998-2001.

This marks the fourth time in Koula’s career that she has been selected as the MWC Offensive Player of the Week.

The Vikings return to action on Wednesday when they host UW-Stout.

Mann captures MWC Defensive Player of the Week honors

Lawrence University men’s soccer standout Charlie Mann has been chosen as the Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Mann (Denver, Colo./Littleton), a sophomore defender, spearheaded the defensive effort of the Vikings in a pair of Lawrence victories during the past week. This is the first time in Mann’s career that he has won this award.

Playing in the center of the Lawrence defense, Mann was a key player in the Vikings’ 2-0 victory at Ripon College on Oct. 12. Lawrence limited the Red Hawks to only nine shots on goal in the match.

Mann then was given the task of marking Beloit College star Jackson Wilkins, one of the top scorers in the conference, in Lawrence’s game against the Buccaneers on Oct. 15. The Vikings posted a 2-1 overtime victory over the Bucs, and Mann held Wilkins without a point. The Bucs were held to only seven shots on goal.

Lawrence (5-9-0, 4-2-0 MWC) returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Knox College.