The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 3 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on November 13, 2020.
Paityn Tabor ’23 and Stephanie Carlson ’21
Staff Writer, Associate Editor and Sports Editor
taborpn@mx.lakeforest.edu and carlsonsa@mx.lakeforest.edu
Editor’s note: Paityn Tabor is a member of the Lake Forest College Women’s Soccer Team
In Spring 2022, men’s and women’s lacrosse will become the newest additions of varsity sports offered at the College. For these two teams to achieve success, and for other teams to take advantage of the field, the College has constructed a brand new, state-of-the-art turf field for the teams to practice. With Farwell Field lacking the proper field lines for men’s and women’s lacrosse, the College found itself in dire need of an update.
What was previously a grass field, home to the softball team and serving as an extra practice field for the soccer teams, has been transformed into a 122,000-square-foot turf field located directly behind Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Construction began on April 27, 2020, lasting five months until September 27, 2020.
What was previously referred to as the soccer/softball field for decades has been named for the Mohr family to honor their generosity toward the project and the College. The late Jean Whyte Mohr ’52 and Frank Mohr ’52 were pivotal in making construction of the field possible.
The $2 million project was split into two phases. Phase one included field construction and hiring of the men’s and women’s lacrosse coaches, Phil Dodson and Maggie Zentgraf. Phase two will encompass the development of locker rooms for lacrosse and consist of improvements for the soccer and football teams in Halas Hall, as well as purchasing the remaining equipment for the field. The field also will be equipped with covered player benches, a new scoreboard, and increased fan seating capacity.
“The state-of-the-art field, combined with the hiring of our two incredible new head coaches, has us positioned for both immediate and sustained success in lacrosse recruiting and competition. The field is also a big boost to our storied and successful softball and soccer programs and to other programming at the College,” said Jackie Slaats, Lake Forest College’s Vice President for Athletics and Career Advancement.
Mohr Field can be used by men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, and even football, if need be. Due to its versatility, the field will surely help to boost the success of many of the College’s sports teams because it allows more teams to practice simultaneously and have more space while doing so.
“Having a second turf practice and game field opens up so many possibilities, from a scheduling standpoint, and the fact that we built it, while so many schools were cutting projects, just shows our College’s commitment to athletics,” explained women’s head soccer coach T.R. Bell ’96.
As outstanding as Mohr Field will be for the College’s future varsity lacrosse teams, their seasons will not begin for over a year. With fall sports being postponed due to COVID-19, Lake Forest College soccer and softball teams will not be able to play games on the field until this spring. However, even with these setbacks, the field has been able to get immediate use.
Many athletes, especially soccer players, who are living in the Lake Forest area this semester have been able to get together at the new field and practice with one another. The College has implemented many health guidelines in order for the students to play safely, such as mandating masks, requiring students to social distance, and requiring students to fill out a health survey on the Campus Clear app before entering the field.
Thanks to these safety measures, students have been able to gather at Mohr Field and interact with one another safely while also getting to play the sports they love. The field’s immediate impact on student-athletes shows great promise for the future of athletics at Lake Forest College.
