Anna McCluskey ’25
Staff writer
Mccluskeya@lakeforest.edu
The defending MLC (Midwest Lacrosse Conference) champions had a great start to their season on Saturday, February 17th, defeating Carrol University 16-5 and receiving the first set of MLC weekly honors awards. Ryan Dousevicz was able to earn MWC Offensive Player of the Week, recording a career-high of 5 points in a single match. The Foresters also dominated on the defense, being led by graduate student Gordon Kiesgen IV, who not only earned MWC Defensive Player of the Week but also was able to win 15 of 20 faceoffs while also snagging four ground balls. These two Foresters were not the only two to find success, as 13 separate players were able to record a point in the season debut.
The Foresters won the Midwest Lacrosse Conference in 2023, having a 13-5 record and going 5-0 in conference play. The future looks bright for the Foresters, as the program only graduated two seniors the previous year. With most of last year’s team returning, and some talented first-year students coming in, it should be exciting to see what this team will achieve, especially given the lofty standard set in 2023. The Foresters will play 15 games total this season, and hope to have the same success as last year.
One of the key players throughout the 2023 season was junior goalie, Andrew Widlar. Widlar played a huge role in the team’s success, having a .518 save percentage in the 2023 season, ultimately receiving a spot in the Second Team All-MLC. When I asked Wiidlar about his personal success last year, specifically about how he helped the team reach the conference championship, he gave credit to the guys in front of him. “I had a great defense in front of me. They were the ones who limited the shots,” said Widlar.
The Foresters have a very strong defensive core, led primarily by junior captain, Conor Murphy. Murphy earned the team’s Most Valuable Player award last season as well as a spot within First Team All-MLC. When speaking with the Stentor, Murphy said, “I’m very excited for the upcoming season and I think that the team can be just as successful, if not more.”
Widlar agreed with this, saying, “I think we’ll have the same success because we have the personnel and the drive to work as hard as possible to reach our goals.” Both players also gave a shout out to Judson Norris, who despite being a first-year, has already made a positive impact on the team this pre-season, as well as the beginning of this season.
The future looks bright for the Foresters Men’s Lacrosse team, and it will be very exciting to see if they can come out victorious in the MLC once again.
