Men’s lacrosse heading to Atlantic Sun Conference

Attacker+Peter+Covington+%28No.+29%29+tries+to+make+space+to+shoot+against+Florida+Tech+defender+Nick+Fornadel+on+Feb.+9%2C+2020.+Covington+scored+four+goals+in+the+game.++

Photo by Kayla Drake

Attacker Peter Covington (No. 29) tries to make space to shoot against Florida Tech defender Nick Fornadel on Feb. 9, 2020. Covington scored four goals in the game.

Dominic Hoscher, Editor-in-Chief

The men’s lacrosse team has found a new home, as Lindenwood will be joining the Atlantic Sun Conference, or ASUN, at the Division I level. 

The ASUN conference made the announcement on Wednesday. 

Lindenwood will begin competing in the conference in 2022-23.

“Lindenwood will be starting its reclassification period next year and we look forward to providing a quality experience for their Men’s Lacrosse student-athletes,” ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart said in the announcement. 

Jacksonville University (Jacksonville, Florida) and Mercer University (Macon, Georgia) will also be joining the conference. This will give ASUN nine lacrosse programs, with the others being Air Force, Bellarmine, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Robert Morris, and Utah. 

The Lions have been competing at the NCAA Division II level over the past nine seasons. In 2020, the program played its first season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, or GLVC, going 5-0 overall and 1-0 against conference opponents before the season came to a halt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Lindenwood’s first full season in the GLVC was in 2021, where the Lions finished 10-3 overall, 9-2 in GLVC competition, and lost in the conference final 10-9 to the University of Indianapolis.

This season, the Lions are 6-2 overall and are 1-0 in conference play. Lindenwood’s only two losses have come against No. 8 Limestone University (13-8 on Feb. 26) and No. 2 University of Tampa (11-8 on March 9). The Lions have three wins against ranked programs, including an 8-7 victory over No. 3 Indianapolis on March 19 at home.

Lindenwood is on the road today to face Maryville University at 3 p.m., before returning home on April 5 to host Quincy University.