Nathan Baliva  |   Published May 04, 2021

Lacrosse Team Hosts Playoff

Monmouth to meet Cornell at 4 p.m. May 5 in Midwest Lacrosse Conference semifinal; winner heads to Minnesota for Saturday’s title game.

GOAL-ORIENTED: Jeff Knapp scored a total of 11 goals in Monmouth's two victories over Cornell... GOAL-ORIENTED: Jeff Knapp scored a total of 11 goals in Monmouth's two victories over Cornell this season. The Fighting Scots will host the Rams Wednesday in the program's first-ever playoff game. MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College men’s lacrosse team will host Cornell College in the Midwest Lacrosse Conference semifinals at 4 p.m. Wednesday at April Zorn Stadium. Both teams are playing their first-ever MLC tournament contest and the Scots will honor their seniors in a pre-game ceremony.

The winner advances to the MLC Championship game on Saturday at Northwestern-Minnesota with the conference’s NCAA tournament automatic bid on the line. Monmouth is 5-2 on the season, 4-2 in conference with both losses to UNW Minnesota. Cornell went 1-6 overall and 1-5 in the MLC while being outscored 110-41.


Matchup History

Monmouth has won three straight against Cornell after losing the 2017 and 2018 matchups. The Scots and Rams met twice this season. Monmouth won at home 13-5 on April 1 and picked up a 17-3 win in Iowa on April 14.

Attacker Jeff Knapp (Nolensville, Tennessee) scored 11 goals against Cornell this season while Kain Donohoo (St. Charles, Illinois) scored five times. Knapp set the Scots single-game goals record when he found the back of the net eight times at Zorn on April 1. He ranks fifth in the MLC in goals and points.

The Scots had four players net hat-tricks in Mount Vernon in the second game. Donohoo, Knapp, Michael Casey (Chicago, Illinois) and Chasen Smith (Algonquin, Illinois) all scored three times.

Goalkeeper Teagan Simons (Littleton, Colorado) has 13 saves in the two games while allowing six goals. Midfielder Gordon Kiesgen (Spring Grove, Illinois) has won 26-of-38 (.684) faceoffs.


The Scots Season Recap

Monmouth outscored their opponents 77-54 this season and racked up 115 more shots than the opposition.

Knapp leads Monmouth with 23 goals on the season. Donohoo has 18 points and is tied with Knapp at 27 points. Mitch Perez (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) leads the Scots with 13 assists to go with six goals while Casey has 10 goals and six assists. Perez ranks fourth in the MLC in assists and set the Scots career record with his 34th assist on Saturday.

Simons has started all seven games in goal, allowing 7.67 goals per game. He has made 75 saves on the season and has a MLC-leading 60.1 save percentage.

Kisegen ranks third in the MLC with 49 ground balls. Nick Thomas (Elmhurst, Illinois) leads the MLC in caused turnovers with 18 and ranks fourth with 34 ground balls.


How to Follow

The game will be broadcast free on the Scots website with live stats also available.

Updates will also be available on twitter @MonmouthGameday

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