LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Led by hat tricks from Emma Halweg, Sami Hackley and Emma Nelson, the College of Saint Benedict lacrosse team (8-3, 5-0 MLC) repeated as the regular season Midwest Lacrosse Conference champions by rallying for a 14-13 win over Lake Forest College (12-3, 4-1 MLC) on Saturday (April 27).
 
CSB head coach Patrick Crandall was impressed by its team's fight and resiliency in rallying for yet another win as the Bennies rallied from a 9-6 halftime deficit by outscoring Lake Forest, 8-4, in the second half for the win.
 
"The team showed a lot of fight today in a battle for the MLC Championship. When we got down early in the game we had to call an early time out and re-focus," said Crandall. "We were chasing them most of the first half and were still down three at half. That is when we really had the discussion about playing for each other and not taking the easy path and give up. The team was able to go on a 4-0 run at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter taking the lead for the first time with 11 minutes left to play on a rocket shot from Emma (Halweg) from 10 meters away from goal."
 
With the victory, CSB is now 8-3 overall and concluded league play at 5-0. Before CSB hosts a semifinal in the MLC on Wednesday, May 1, the Bennies face UW-River Falls in nonconference play on Monday, April 29 at the CSB Athletic Turf Stadium at 5 p.m. If the Bennies win the first round playoff game, they will host the MLC title game for a second straight year on Saturday, May 4.
 
It has been quite a run in the MLC for the Bennies, which are 12-0 in league play across its two seasons as a lacrosse program. They were 7-0 a year ago in the program's inaugural season and 5-0 this year.
 
"Lake Forest is a tough team that has great athletes and is coached well. It was another tough test for this group and we were able come together and come away with our second conference title in two years," said Crandall. "I am so proud of how we have worked and battled this season. The team deserves this distinction.  Now we need to change the narrative from last year and defend our home turf in the coming playoffs. We are looking forward to it," he said.
 
Leading the way for CSB against Lake Forest was Hackley who had her 20^th multi-goal game of her career. With three goals, she now has 42 goals and 48 points this season. Halweg had her best game at CSB with three goals and three assists for a career-best six points. Nelson added a fourth hat trick this year and registered her sixth multi-goal game. First-year Lizzie Schrubbe had two goals and an assist and now has a team-high 54 points this year. Junior Emma Osland had a goal and an assist, while Tess Cavanaugh had a goal and sophomore Ella Steinke also had a goal. In net, sophomore Chloe Lewis, the two-time MLC Defensive Player of the Week, had 12 saves for her 11^th double-digit save game of the season as she is now 8-2-0 on the year.
 
"The last few minutes were back and forth with Ella (Steinke), Emma (Nelson) and Lizzie (Schrubbe) scoring big goals in the final minutes," said Crandall. "Chloe (Lewis) had a big game in net making all those saves. The defense stood tall in the third and fourth quarters," said Crandall, as St. Ben's allowed just four goals in the second half. The four goals in the second half today is part of an impressive defensive effort by CSB over the past four games – all wins. The Bennies have allowed four goals or fewer in the second half of all those victories.
 
Overall, Lake Forest had a 36-to-26 shots edge, including 19-to-9 advantage in the first half. The Bennies and Forresters both had 17 shots in the second half. The Forresters also held a slight edge of 25-to-24 on ground balls and 20-to-10 in draw controls.
 
Game Summary –
In the first half, Lake Forest took a 3-0 lead before Hackley's first goal (8:04) put the Bennies on the board. Ali Graham had her second goal (6:14) before CSB scored three straight to draw even at 4-4 with scores by Hackley (4:29), Halweg (3:23) and Cavanaugh (1:54). With 10 seconds left in the quarter, Ryleigh Nelson of Lake Forest had a goal for a 5-4 lead.
 
CSB tied it early in the second quarter on a goal from Nelson (14:10). After Lake Forest led, 7-5, Osland (2:05) had a tally to cut the lead to one. Then the Forresters had goals from Graham (1:18) and Nelson (:06) to take a 9-6 lead at halftime.
 
Halweg (12:14) cut the lead to 9-7 in the third quarter. Down, 10-7, CSB rallied as Nelson (2:27) and Schrubbe (:43) had goals to reduce the lead to a single goal after three quarters.
 
Hackley's goal (13:44) drew CSB even early in the fourth quarter. Halweg (12:44) put CSB ahead for the first time at 11-10 before Graham (12:33) evened the score. CSB responded with scores from Nelson (11:52) and Steinke (7:40) for a 13-11 St. Ben's advantage. Graham cut the lead to 13-12 before Schrubbe provided CSB with a 14-12 lead at 3:05, a tally that proved to be the game winner. Lake Forest scored in the final seconds but it was not enough as the Bennies prevailed and clinched the regular season title and top seed in the MLC playoffs.