Men's Lacrosse Team to Visit Albright on Thursday For the Commonwealth Conference Title

Widener's men's lacrosse team will be ready to go Thursday as it battles Albright in the inaugural Commonwealth Conference final.

Widener (8-7, 5-1 CC) is the number two seed for the tournament and Albright (16-2, 5-1) is the top seed. Game time in Reading, PA is 7:00 pm.

Widener advanced thanks to Tuesday's 17-7 rout of No. 3 seed Lycoming in the semifinals. Junior Johnny Casey (Glenside, PA) scored five goals, including three in the decisive second quarter when the Pride netted all five tallies for a 9-4 halftime lead. Mark Kane (Morton, PA) had three goals and an assist, fellow senior Ryan Shewell (Ellicott City, MD) also recorded a hat trick and sophomore Mac Nestler (Chatham, NJ) made nine saves.

The Pride this season have been a strong offensive team with 164 goals, including 79 over six league games. One of the keys has been junior Josh Fox (Wynnewood, PA), a first team All-Middle Atlantic Conference selection from last year who is fourth in the league with 34 goals and 10th with 39 points. Casey, a first team all-league pick in 2011, is second on the team with 28 goals and sophomore Robert Clemens (Aston, PA) is second in the conference with 28 assists.

Junior Charlie Bytheway (Glen Mills, PA) has been a force at long-stick midfield, leading the squad with 24 caused turnovers and sitting second with 58 ground balls. Nestler, picked Honorable Mention All-MAC last year, is 7-3 with a .546 save percentage.

Widener is 23-3 in conference-tournament games and 9-1 in its last 10 tournament contests on the road. Albright is in its first season of varsity lacrosse.

The winner of this game meets either Eastern or FDU-Florham out of the Freedom Conference on Saturday for the MAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This is the first year the MAC was separated into two conferences.

Albright moved to the final with a 6-4 victory Tuesday against fourth-seeded Lebanon Valley.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and free for children under age six.

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