As the MAC begins its split into Commonwealth and Freedom conferences, the Albright College men's lacrosse team has surged to the top of the standings in the Lions' inaugural season. Now they host powerhouse Widener in the first-ever Commonwealth championship game at 7 p.m.

The winner will then take on the Freedom champion (either Eastern or FDU-Florham) on Saturday for an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. If Albright knocks off the Pride, they will earn the right to host that MAC title game.

The Lions (16-2) rallied from two down in the second half to defeat Lebanon Valley 6-4 in the Commonwealth semifinals on Tuesday. The Albright defensive group was up to the challenge, shutting the Dutchmen down for the final 25:12 of the game after LVC went ahead 4-2.

Freshman goalie Andrew Torak (a four-time Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week selection) made nine saves, while sophomore Mike Donohoe caused a pair of turnovers. Freshman Darian Meador played a huge role, winning 9-of-13 faceoffs against LVC's Scott Sutton, the league leader in draw percentage.

While the Lions were held to their lowest goal output of the season, they do rank 11th in the nation in scoring offense (13.94 gpg).

After starting the season 2-7 (including four losses to nationally-ranked teams and an 11-10 double-overtime defeat to Albright), the Pride have rattled off six wins in a row by an average of over eight goals. Widener has won 13 of the last 16 MAC championships.

Juniors Josh Fox (34 goals, five assists) and Johnny Casey (28 goals, 10 assists) lead the way in scoring, while sophomore Robert Clemens has dished out a team-high 28 assists. Timothy Winslow has a team-high 64 ground balls and takes the majority of the draws for a squad that has a faceoff average of 41.1%.