BELLEVILLE — The National Women's Lacrosse League has announced Lindenwood University-Belleville as the host site for the 2013 National Championship. The women's lacrosse Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and National Championship games are scheduled to take place April 18-20 with times to be set at a later date.
"The National Women's Lacrosse League is proud that Lindenwood - Belleville will serve as the host for the 2013 National Championship," said NWLL Commissioner, John McCarthy. "Athletic Director, Scott Spinner, and his team have been proactive and enthusiastic about hosting our premier annual event, and we're excited about bringing this collegiate lacrosse championship to Belleville."
A relatively new athletic department established in 2009, Lindenwood-Belleville eagerly accepted the opportunity to host its first championship event.
"We are very excited to host the NWLL championships," said Scott Spinner, Lindenwood-Belleville's athletic director. "We are particularly looking to increase the exposure of lacrosse in this region and think this will be a great opportunity and event to do so."
The championship will be played at Lindenwood Stadium, located on the campus of LU-Belleville, also the home to the Lynx football team. An awards banquet has been set for April 17, prior to the opening round of the championships.
Throughout the season please visit the LU-Belleville Athletics Web Site for updated information on the NWLL's championship event.
Men's lacrosse
The Lindenwood-Belleville men's lacrosse team finished up their fall season with a tournament in Joplin, Mo., playing against some of the top teams in the MCLA.
In the first game against Missouri, it was a close game throughout. Freshman goalie Dylan Whittingham,, played very well and recorded 10 saves throughout the game. He kept the Lynx in the game. Bobby Lacker, a first line midfielder scored two goals. While freshman Cody Trella added a goal. The game-winning goal came on a fast break situation; defenseman Luke Outman ran the length of the field to put the Lynx up by one goal late in the game. The Lynx would go on to win 4-3. This was the first time that the Lynx had beaten Missouri in program history.
In the second game of the day the Lynx would play the eventually champion of the tournament the University of Kansas. The Lynx blew a three-goal lead in this one and couldn't come back, losing 6-4.
With the double elimination setup in the tournament the Lynx had to turn around and play a third game in a row against Iowa State. The Lynx would have no problem in this on going on to win by a score of 9-4 and setup another matchup with Missouri to get out of the consolation bracket.
Once again it was a very close game for the Lynx against Missouri, tied late the Lynx would give up two goals within the final minute to fall by a score of 6-4 and thus being eliminated from the tournament.
Head coach Dan Mertzlufft was very happy with the way his team played throughout the day and how they improved over the fall, getting a true testament of what his team was made out of.
"We have a lot of freshman that produced, played hard, and with a lot of heart," said Mertzlufft. "After a fall tournament you couldn't have asked for more from the team and what we have moving forward."
The fall tournament wrapped up the fall portion of the schedule for the men's lacrosse team. Practice will start in late January and the first competition is set for Feb. 16 against the University of Illinois.
