The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Lawrence rally comes up short at Lake Forest

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — A late rally came up short on Saturday for the Lawrence University football team, and Lake Forest College hung on for a 20-16 Midwest Conference win at Farwell Field.

Lawrence (0-2, 0-2 MWC) got a touchdown from quarterback Luke Barthelmess with 15 seconds left, but the onsides kick attempt failed and secured the win for Lake Forest (1-1, 1-0 MWC).

Barthelmess was 24 of 43 passing for 362 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked eight times by the Lake Forest defense. Dan Dubnicka had the biggest game of his Lawrence career with five catches for 136 yards.

Running back Al Mitchell did nearly all the damage for Lake Forest by running 23 times for 202 yards and a touchdown.

Mitchell gave Lake Forest a 6-0 lead when he ran 68 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Lawrence cut the lead in half when it drove the ball to the Lake Forest 12 before the drive stalled. Cody Robel booted a 28-yard field goal with 8:54 left in the first half to trim the lead to 6-3.

The Foresters then sacked Barthelmess in the end zone for a safety and an 8-3 lead with 5:20 left in the half. Lake Forest took the ensuing free kick and scored. Joey Valdivia ran 18 yards for the score and a 14-3 lead.

The teams then exchanged fumbles, and Lawrence moved the ball to the Lake Forest 10 in the final seconds of the first half. Lake Forest got another sack to end the half.

Lawrence trimmed the margin to 14-10 early in the fourth quarter. The Vikings got the ball after Jon Hope intercepted Pete Scaffidi at the Lake Forest 27-yard line. Barthelmess hit Jermaine Taylor for 20 yards, and Ben Hartman then grabbed an eight-yard touchdown pass with 14:17 left in the contest.

Lake Forest countered by driving 69 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. Alec Howe finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, and Lake Forest led 20-14.

Lawrence then drove to the Lake Forest 26, but turned the ball over on downs. The Vikings got the ball back with 1:42 left and moved 98 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. Barthelmess ran it in from seven yards out to trim the margin to 20-16.

The Vikings touched the ensuing onsides kick before it went 10 yards and Lake Forest took a knee to end the game. 

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Augustana rallies past Lawrence

WINONA, Minn. — The Augustana (Ill.) College men’s soccer team rallied for a 2-1 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at the St. Mary’s (Minn.) University Classic.

Lawrence (1-3) grabbed a 1-0 lead just before the half when David Caprile scored on a penalty kick at 43:05.

That lead held up until Augustana (1-2) got a goal from Josh Bennett at 76:59 to tie the match at 1-1. Augustana took the lead for good with just over three minutes remaining when Patrick Nelson scored.

Tyler Cowherd was forced to make just one save to pick up the win. Kevin Aslett stopped three shots for Lawrence, which was out-shot 26-5.

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Late goal lifts UW-La Crosse over Lawrence

LA CROSSE, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women’s soccer team scored with three minutes remaining Saturday to pull out a 1-0 nonconference win over Lawrence University.

Kara Bednarek scored at the 87-minute mark to break the scoreless tie for the Eagles (2-2). La Crosse enjoyed a 27-4 edge in shots, but Lawrence goalkeeper Cassie Burke made nine saves to keep the Vikings (0-4) in the contest.

Sagan Pizzingrilli made one save to pick up the shutout for La Crosse.

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Lawrence routs Prairie Fire

The Lawrence University women’s tennis team rolled to an 8-1 nonconference victory over Knox College on Saturday at the Lawrence Courts.

Lawrence swept the doubles matches with Jenni Roesch and Christina Schaupp winning at No. 1, Hannah Geoffrey and Ali Heiring winning at No. 2 and Gayatri Malhotra and Polly Dalton winning at No. 3.

The Vikings also won at Nos. 2-6 singles with Schaupp, Malhotra, Geoffrey, Heiring and Dalton all victorious.

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McLain leads Vikings past MSOE

The Lawrence University volleyball team split the first two sets and then rolled to a nonconference victory over the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Thursday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lawrence won 25-18, 16-25, 26-24, 25-14.

Shannon McLain pounded out 18 kills to lead Lawrence (4-1). McLain also added four blocks and 11 digs.

Lawrence had balance in the rest of the lineup with seven kills for Betsy Sorensen, six for Emma Kane and five apiece for Diane McLeod and Terese Swords. McLeod led Lawrence with 44 assists and she chipped in with eight digs.

Kathleen Rowland paced the Lawrence defense with 37 digs, and Kane and Kate Rosenbalm added 14 digs apiece.

The teams split the first two sets, and MSOE battled back to take a 23-22 lead in set three. Lawrence won the next two points before MSOE tied it at 24-24, but the Vikings won the final two points to take the set. Lawrence pushed out to a 20-10 lead in the fourth set and closed the match out from there.

Stephanie Hasler paced MSOE (1-6) with 17 kills and Leah Hendricks added 10.

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Inside LU Athletics: Vikings show balance with improved ground game

Even a casual observer of Lawrence University football knew the Vikings were going to be able to throw the pigskin this season. With record-setting quarterback Luke Barthelmess and receiver Tyler Mazur back, the Vikings had the pieces in place for a potent aerial attack.

But the Vikings likely raised a few eyebrows around the Midwest Conference last Saturday when they opened the season by showcasing an impressive ground game against Cornell College.

“The goal this year, from recruiting right on through the season, was to recruit more running backs and have a more balanced attack,” Lawrence coach Mike Barthelmess said. “We feel like if are going to win, we have to run the ball more effectively.”

The Vikings certainly did that in the season opener. Lawrence ran for 272 yards, and that is the Vikings’ highest rushing output since they went for 286 vs. Knox College back on Oct. 13, 2007.

“What we’re trying to do is take what the defense gives us,” Barthelmess said. “We were going to keep running the football until (Cornell) took it away.”

The Vikings actually ran for more yards (272) than they passed for (267), and that hasn’t happened for a few seasons. The last time Lawrence gained more yards on the ground than in the air was vs. Knox in 2009 (167 rushing/147 passing).

Luke Barthelmess did the most damage by running 16 times for 132 yards, and he became the first Lawrence back to rush for more than 100 yards since Craig Ebert did it in the 2008 season finale. Barthelmess also completed 26 of 43 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns.

“Luke always has the option to throw the football or run the football on every single play,” Barthelmess said. “Both he and the coordinators were taking advantage of what the defense was giving us.”

Senior running back Ben Hartman added 21 carries for 86 yards, and freshman running back Scott Vandeloo of Kaukauna added 43 yards on 11 carries. The Vikings lost freshman Corey Fisher to an injury, and freshman Dalton Sendelbach also saw action.

“We have three good running backs, and we’re going to use them,” Barthelmess said. “If defenses want to stack the box to take that way, we’re going to throw the football.”

The other big, and I do mean big, reason the Vikings were successful on the ground was the offensive line. With a group that averages 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, the Vikings have the ability to move the defense.

“The offensive linemen always prefer to run the football,” Barthelmess said. “If you’re a real offensive lineman you want to dig in there and create holes for your running backs. I’m sure that’s the most fun they’ve had since they’ve been here.”

Scoring streak

It took Erich Lohrmann until the first game of his junior season to get his first goal for the Lawrence men’s soccer team. He didn’t have to wait as long for No. 2 or No. 3. Just two days later, in the season’s second game, Lohrmann scored both goals in Lawrence’s 2-1 victory at Marian.

Still perfect

The Lawrence women’s tennis has several players that kept perfect records intact when the Vikings beat Carthage College 5-4 on Tuesday.

Junior Gayatri Malhotra is now 4-0 at No. 3 singles, and the No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Hannah Geoffrey and freshman Ali Heiring are also 4-0.

This marks the second consecutive season the Vikings have defeated Carthage 5-4, and the win in 2011 started an eight-match winning streak for Lawrence.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations 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.

MSOE edges Lawrence in overtime

The Milwaukee School of Engineering men’s soccer team scored 4:52 into overtime to pull out a 3-2 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday at Whiting Field West.

Lawrence (1-2-0) rallied from a pair of deficits to force the overtime.

MSOE (3-0-0) scored in the 25th minute, but Lawrence scored just 1:16 later when Simon Newsom picked up his first goal of the season. A shot was saved and punched straight up into the air by MSOE goalkeeper Garret Farin, and Newsom stuffed the rebound into the net to tie the game at 1-1 at 26:01.

MSOE then took the lead just 3:37 into the second half, but the Vikings got the equalizer at the 57:21 mark. Cameron Pieper launched a corner kick to the back post and Dan O’Mahoney headed it into the net to tie it at 2-2.

The score stayed that way until Brock Shilling took a pass from Jordan Werner and scored the game-winner at the 94:52 mark.

Farin made six saves to pick up the win, and Kevin Aslett stopped 11 shots for Lawrence and took the loss.

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Vikings top Carthage 5-4

The Lawrence University women’s tennis team topped Carthage College 5-4 in a nonconference match on Tuesday at the Lawrence Courts.

The Vikings got the early advantage by winning two of the three doubles matches. Hannah Geoffrey and Ali Heiring won 9-7 at No. 2 and Gayatri Malhotra and Polly Dalton posted an 8-6 victory at No. 3

Lawrence (2-2) then split the singles matches to earn the victory. Malhotra beat Erin Hendrickson 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3, Geoffrey won 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3) over Abbi Howell at No. 4 and Dalton topped Holly Weber 7-5, 6-4 at No. 6.

It marks the second consecutive season Lawrence has handed Carthage a 5-4 setback.

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Burke spectacular in net in loss to Dubuque

The University of Dubuque women’s soccer team posted a 2-0 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at Whiting Field West, but goalkeeper Cassie Burke kept the Vikings close with her spectacular play throughout the game.

Burke made 15 saves, including a half-dozen of the jaw-dropping variety, to keep Dubuque from putting the game away. The Spartans (1-0-1) scored in the 37th minute to grab a 1-0 lead, but Burke withstood a barrage of 24 second-half shots and only allowed a goal to Alexandra Watkins in the 73rd minute.

Lawrence (0-3-0) was limited to only four shots. Chelsea Hawkins made three saves to pick up the shutout.

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