Wake’s Church Snags PEARL Kudos

(Photo by Josh Amato)

ATLANTA – After backstopping the Demon Deacons to their first ALC championship – and first-ever bid to nationals – Wake Forest senior netminder Jack Church is the MCLA Division II PEARL Goalie of the Week for the period ending April 27.

In victories over UNC-Wilmington and Virginia Tech D-II, the New York City product made 19 saves to send the Deacs to the 2025 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance, which will be held at the Round Rock (Texas) Multipurpose Complex from May 5-10.

“He's been a cornerstone of our defense since his freshman year and now he’s a four-year starter,” said Wake Forest coach Brett Hewitt. “He's a team captain and our president and the ALC Defensive Player of the Year. We have complete confidence that, with him in goal, we can compete with anyone.

“He has a knack for making those incredible saves at crucial moments, either shifting the momentum in our favor or shutting down the opposition. Week in and week out, he comes up with highlight reel saves. We believe if we hold good teams to under 10 goals, the defense has done their job and we'll win.

“A perfect example was the ALC championship game where we were up 10-9 going into the fourth quarter. Church declared, ‘That's it, we're stopping them here,’ and we proceeded to have a shutout in the final quarter.

“Our journey towards nationals has been built upon his defensive leadership over the past four years, and it was incredibly rewarding to finally achieve that breakthrough. Church consistently arrives ready to compete and lead. I've said for four years that there's no other goalie I'd rather have in net, and he's proven that time and time again.

As the recipient of the PEARL Goalie of the Week honor, Church will receive a PEARL swag bag of goodies that will include PEARL lacrosse balls – the official ball of the MCLA.