The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Vikings fall to Wheaton in NCAA Tournament

WHEATON, Ill. — The Lawrence University women’s soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Wheaton College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday.

Lawrence, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since playing in back-to-back Division III tourneys in 2000 and 2001, finished the season with a 9-9-1 record. Lawrence earned its spot in the tournament by winning the Midwest Conference Tournament.

Wheaton (17-2-1) got on the board early courtesy of a penalty kick. Laura Karsten converted the penalty kick at 6:29 to stake the Thunder to a 1-0 lead.

Wheaton made it 2-0 when Jamie Orewiler’s header found the back of the net at the 24:46 mark. The Thunder made it 3-0 just before halftime when Kristen Clark scored on a header at 43:14.

The Vikings held Wheaton scoreless in the second half, but Lawrence was limited to two shots by the stout Thunder defense.

Wheaton advances to play in the second round on Saturday against Carleton College, which defeated Augustana (Ill.) College 2-1 in overtime.

NCAA Tournament page

Lawrence tops Lake Forest 4-1

The Lawrence University hockey team scored twice early in the third period to pull away and post a 4-1 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lake Forest College Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

The Vikings (4-1-0, 3-0-0 MCHA) led 2-1 entering the third period but scored twice in the first 6:24 of the period to pull away.

Lawrence goaltender Evan Johnson stopped 23 shots to pick up the win.

Lake Forest led 1-0 in the first period before Brad Scurfield scored at 14:20 to tie the game. Lawrence took the lead for good just 1:36 later when Matt Hughes scored off a pass from Scurfield.

The score remained 2-1 until early in the third period. Lawrence’s John Orrico got sent off for interference, but the Vikings picked up a short-handed goal at 3:05 to take a 3-1 lead.

Lawrence made it 4-1 when Jacob Esch scored off a pass from Jesse Byam-Katzman at the 6:24 mark.

Lawrence outshot the Foresters 40-24.

Box score

Vikings open basketball season with defending national champs

The Lawrence University men’s basketball team opens its season on Tuesday by taking on the defending NCAA Division III champions, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Alexander Gymnasium.

The Vikings finished the 2009-10 season with an 11-12 record and lost leading scorer John Dekker to graduation. The Pointers won 29 games a season ago and defeated Williams College in the NCAA title game.

Preview

Vikings take on Lake Forest in home-and-home series

The Lawrence University hockey team takes on Lake Forest College in a home-and-home series this weekend. Lawrence faces Lake Forest at the Appleton Family Ice Center on Friday night and then travels to Lake Forest on Saturday night to wrap up the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association series.

Lawrence is coming off a sweep of Concordia (Wis.) University, and Lake Forest opened its season last weekend by taking a pair of games from Finlandia University.

Preview

Gabriel swims to MWC honor

Lawrence University standout Hannah Gabriel has been chosen as the Midwest Conference Swimmer of the Week.

Gabriel (Elmhurst, Ill./York), a freshman, earned the award for her performances in Lawrence’s opening two meets of the season. Gabriel won four individual events and was part of a winning relay team in the first two meets.

In the season opener against Beloit College on Oct. 23, Gabriel won the 200-yard freestyle in 2:02.92 and won the 500 freestyle in 5:33.11. She also swam on Lawrence’s winning 200 freestyle relay team, which posted a time of 1:49.07.

In a dual meet against UW-Whitewater on Nov. 6, Gabriel won the 200 freestyle in 2:01.61 and swam to victory in the 500 freestyle in 5:28.02.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it hosts UW-River Falls in a dual meet at Boldt Natatorium.

Record-breaking effort earns Johnson MCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors

Evan Johnson

Lawrence University goaltender Evan Johnson was named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week after breaking a school record this past weekend.

Johnson (Suwanee, Ga./Pomfret School) broke the school record for victories when he earned win No. 31 this past Saturday at Concordia (Wis.) University. Johnson broke the record of 30 set by Andrew Isaac from 2003-07.

Johnson earned victory No. 30 this past Friday when he stopped 28 shots in Lawrence’s 5-1 win over Concordia. He then entered Saturday’s game in the second period with the Vikings trailing 4-1. He made eight saves, including three in a two-man advantage for Concordia late in the game, to earn the record-breaking victory.

Johnson, who has been named MCHA Defensive Player of the Week three times, is now 3-1-0 on the season with an .890 save percentage and 3.30 goals against average.

Lawrence returns to action on Friday and Saturday when the Vikings face Lake Forest College in a home-and-home series.

Vikings headed to Wheaton for NCAA Tournament

The Lawrence University women’s soccer team opens NCAA Division III Tournament play at Wheaton (Ill.) College on Friday.

Lawrence (9-8-1) is part of a four-team regional also involving Augustana (Ill.) College and Carleton College. Lawrence faces Wheaton at 5 p.m. on Friday at Joe Bean Stadium, and Augustana takes on Carleton at 7 p.m. The winners meet at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Lawrence, playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001, earned its berth in with a 2-1 victory at Carroll University in the Midwest Conference Tournament Championship Game this past Saturday.

Wheaton (18-2-1) earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament after falling to Illinois Wesleyan University in the title game of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament. Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan played to a 0-0 overtime tie, but the Titans advanced after winning 3-1 on penalty kicks.

Vikings top Concordia to complete series sweep

MEQUON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team rallied for a 5-4 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Concordia (Wis.) University Saturday night at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

The win completes a weekend series sweep for the Vikings (3-1-0, 2-0-0 MCHA), who beat the Falcons 5-1 at home on Friday night.

Lawrence goaltender Evan Johnson picked up career win No. 31 to break the school’s wins record. Andrew Isaac, who finished his career in 2007, had set the mark at 30.

The Vikings trailed 4-3 entering the third period but scored twice early in the third and then killed off multiple penalties in the closing minutes to secure the win.

With Lawrence trailing 4-1, Matt Hughes scored two goals in a 23-second span to get Lawrence back in the game. Hughes scored at 17:59 and again at 18:23 to trim the margin to 4-3.

Lawrence didn’t wait long into the third period to take the lead for good.

Jon Sheridan scored juat 1:02 into the third period to tie the game at 4-4, and freshman John Orrico followed with a goal at the 2:54 mark to give Lawrence a 5-4 edge.

Lawrence then killed off four power plays in the third period, including three in the final 6:22, to seal the win.

Box score

Lawrence headed to NCAA Tournament after capturing MWC Tournament title

WAUKESHA, Wis. – Mallory Koula scored both goals for Lawrence University as the Vikings defeated Carroll University 2-1 in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship game Saturday at Schneider Stadium.

The tournament championship gives Lawrence an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. This is Lawrence’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament and the first since the Vikings played in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2000 and 2001.

“It’s what we set as a goal when we started preseason,” Lawrence coach Lisa Sammons said of playing in the NCAA Tournament. “We had the desire and the belief that we could get there.”

Lawrence (9-8-1) learns its opponent when the pairings are announced on Monday.

Third-seeded Lawrence gave up an early goal, but that was all the Vikings would allow. Sarah Tennett scored for top-seed Carroll (14-6-0) just 51 seconds into the match.

It didn’t take long for the Vikings to strike back. Koula, a junior forward from Kimberly, Wis., scored off a pass from Sarah Ehlinger at the 5:35 mark to tie the match at 1-1.

Koula then blasted a shot past Carroll goalkeeper Taylor Mclean that hit the underside of the crossbar and went in to give Lawrence a 2-1 lead at 18:03. Koula has now scored eight goals in her last three matches.

“Mallory has really picked up her momentum,” said Sammons, adding that during the season teams had worked hard to neutralize Lawrence’s prolific scorer. “Going into this postseason she worked on different ways to be creative that teams didn’t know how to defend, and she has been finding the back of the net.”

Lawrence goalkeeper Cassie Burke and the defense made that lead stand up. Burke made 11 saves, including nine in the second half, to preserve the win.

“Our defense was amazing,” Sammons said. “With 15 minutes left, (Carroll) threw another forward up there. We countered, stuck with them and got them frustrated. It helped take them out of their game.”

Lawrence entered the MWC Tournament as the third seed and topped second seed Lake Forest College 4-3 in the semifinals on Friday.

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Ripon runs past Lawrence

The Ripon College football team used its impressive ground game to post a 63-7 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Banta Bowl.

In the 110th meeting between the teams, Ripon had 390 rushing yards and retained possession of the Doehling Heselton Memorial Trophy. Ripon (7-3, 6-3 MWC) has now won the last 11 meetings in the state’s oldest college football rivalry.

T.J. Pierce paced Ripon’s ground game by running 20 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jake Marshall had six carries for 100 yards and two scores. He also completed 8 of 10 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

Lawrence (2-8, 2-7) was limited to only 166 yards of offense and got its only score in the final minute of the game. The Vikings were hurt by four turnovers on the day.

Ripon led 21-0 after the first quarter. The Red Hawks got a big early punt return to take over at the Lawrence 16 and scored three plays later on Pierce’s 7-yard run.

An interception allowed Ripon to start its next drive at the Lawrence 18. Marshall connected with Ben Garland on the next play to go up 14-0. Ripon then put together an eight-play, 89-yard drive, capped by Garland’s 16-yard touchdown catch.

In the second quarter, Ripon got touchdown runs of 54 and 27 yards from Marshall, who threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Craig Bednarek to build a 42-0 lead at the half.

Ripon put three touchdowns on the board in the second half, including one by kicker Jacob Garhart when the Red Hawks faked a field goal to go up 49-0.

Lawrence’s lone score came Jeremiah Johnson capped 10-play, 90-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown catch from Tyler Mazur. Johnson finished his Lawrence career five catches for 94 yards.

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