The Monmouth College men's lacrosse team starts their season at home on Saturday against Northland College with a 4 p.m. start at April Zorn Memorial Stadium. Coach Chris Klaiber's squad was voted by Midwest Lacrosse Conference coaches to finished tied for first with the University of Northwestern.  

Matchup History
The Scots have faced conference opponent Northland twice, winning both games. Last year's game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scots beat Northland 17-10 in 2019 at home and 7-2 in 2018 in Wisconsin.

About Last Year
The Scots were off to a 4-2 start last year with one of the best defenses in Division III lacrosse. The Scots started the season with four straight wins and threw six games had allowed just 6.83 goals against per game. That tally is the best GAA in school history and ranked 14^th in all of Division III. The Scots also ranked #1 in Division III in man-down defense and were on pace to set a new national record at .964 percent.

The program graduated eight seniors who were part of the inaugural class of men's lacrosse at Monmouth. Among those who graduated at career-record holders Thomas Van Alstine, Chase Cranford, Eli Goichenberg, Connor Armstrong and Joe Incorvati. Van Alstine led the 2020 team with 20 goals and 26 points while playing five of the six games.

Players to Watch
The Scots return 19 players from last year's team and have added six freshmen. Among the players to keep an eye on Saturday are:

Senior midfielder Jeff Knapp (Nolensville, Tennessee) has a chance to rewrite the Monmouth lacrosse record books. He enters the season second on the career list in goals, third in points and game-winning goals, fourth in face-offs won and sixth in ground balls. Knapp needs 16 goals and 27 points to catch Van Alstine in those categories while he needs just one game-winning goal to move into a tie atop that category. Knapp scored 15 goals and posted 16 points in six games last season and led the 2018 Scots with 28 goals

Sophomore goalkeeper Teagan Simons (Littleton, Colorado) had a record-setting freshman year, albeit a shortened one. In six games he allowed a school-record 6.70 goals against and set a school record with a .634 save percentage. Twice he recorded 19 saves in a game, against
Augustana on February 11 and against Dubuque on March 3.

Senior attacker Mitch Perez (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) ranks third on the Scots career assists list, fifth in goals and sixth in points. Last season he had six goals and team-leading eight assists in six games. Perez has 22 goals and 21 assists over three years, needing just 13 assists to become the career leader

Senior defender Nick Thomas (Elmhurst, Illinois) was a MLC honorable mention selection back in 2019. Last season he had 14 ground balls and cause four turnovers in four games for the Scots. In 2019 he started 10 of 13 games with one goal, one assist, 19 caused turnovers and 50 ground balls

Senior defender Shayne Sendera (Orland Park, Illinois) started three games last year and caused four turnovers while winning eight ground balls. Sendera played in 16 games in 2019 with one goal, 27 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.

Sophomore midfielder Gordon Kisegen (Spring Grove, Illinois) won 61 face -offs in six games last year. He ranks third on the Fighting Scots career face-offs won list as he begins his second year with the team.

On the Sidelines
Head coach Chris Klaiber is starting his fourth season as the Monmouth head coach with a 17-20 record including an 11-11 mark in the last 22 games. The Scots are 8-4 at home the last two years under Klaiber and have had five all-conference selections. Klaiber was an assistant coach at Division II Adams State University before coming to Monmouth and as a player he started 26 games in goal for Mount St. Mary's.

Up Next
The Scots will play a non-conference game at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana on Friday, March 26, The Scots return home and to conference play on Thursday, April 1, hosting Cornell College at 7 p.m. The Earlham match is the only non-MLC game on the nine-game schedule for 2021 and the Scots will play four times at home and four on the road in conference play.

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