Lake Forest College Sports Information
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

2002 Preview: Repeat the Repeat
  

The 2002 Foresters will line up in search
of their 15th Midwest Conference Title.
LAKE FOREST, IL - If history serves as a guide for the 2002 Midwest Conference men's soccer season, it looks good for the Foresters, whose 2001 championship was their 14th in the last 28 years. Starting in 1991, each MWC Champion has repeated at least once before relinquishing the title and, since 1974, Lake Forest has five separate streaks of at least two consecutive championships.

The current title run has head coach Ed Kositzki proud of his 2001 squad and anxious for 2002. "We had a pretty successful season," he explains, "but I think next year's team will have an opportunity to do so much more." While repeating as conference champions is still a major goal for the Foresters, the "more" Coach Kositzki refers to is the NCAA Tournament, where he would like to see his team in November.

The return of forward Dan Carver is one reason Coach "K" is excited about the future. As a freshman in 2000, Carver led the Foresters with 13 goals, as many as the team's top two scorers of 2001 combined. Carver, Second Team All-MWC midfielder Steve Teisl (13 points in each of his first two seasons), and the right combination of newcomers and veterans will help the Foresters find the back of the net more frequently in 2002.

While the defense was the biggest concern for Kositzki going into 2001, it became the most pleasant surprise as the season progressed. Led by Phil Schwab, who was named to the 2001 MWC First Team and the NSCAA All-Central Region Fourth Team as a sophomore, the defense allowed just 23 goals in 17 games. Second Team All-MWC goalkeeper Ed Elliott returns for his senior year after posting a paltry 1.05 goals against average over the last two seasons.

While the team looks poised to claim MWC Championship number 15, Kositzki still needs to fill in a few pieces of the puzzle. The three-time MWC Coach of the Year will lose his leading scorer from last year as well as one of his captains to graduation. Elliott's successor at goalie is another concern. "While we don't need to replace the majority of our starters," comments Kositzki, "we do need to tweak a few things to get ourselves to that next level."