Box Score Wheeling, W.Va. – On a partially snow covered synthetic surface at Bishop Schmitt Field, Wheeling Jesuit Men's Lacrosse, ranked #13 in the latest Nike/Lacrosse Magazine poll, played its first game of the 2015 season today against Roberts Wesleyan. Four different Jesuit players had multiple goal performances as Wheeling Jesuit beat Roberts Wesleyan going away, 14-4.
The score was tied 2-2 after the first 15 minutes. "I am very happy with the outcome of the game, but our guys were too amped up and excited at the start of the game. That showed in our sloppy first quarter," stated Head Coach
Kevin Dugan.
Once the Cardinals settled into the game, Jesuit scored 11 of the next 12 goals in the contest to take control.
Freshman attack
Dereck Downs scored the first 6 goals of his collegiate career on 14 shots. Freshman attack
Matt Lee also had his 3 goals and 2 assists. Senior attack Dustin Doudelet had 3 goals on 6 shots. Finally,
Bryce Brochu had 2 goals and an assist as Wheeling Jesuit scored 14 goals on 45 shots as a team.
"It was a huge day for our starting attack group that chipped in 12 of our 14 goals. Downs (6 goals) and Lee (3 goals, 2 assists) had a stellar debut while senior
Duston Doudelet (3goals) provided good leadership on the offensive end," noted Dugan.
Freshman goalie
Jake Lilly spent all 60 minutes in goal for Jesuit, picking up the win with 8 saves and four goals against. Jesuit played dominating defense in front of Lilly, allowing Roberts Wesleyan only 18 shots on goal, while Wheeling Jesuit rifled 45 shots at the Red Hawks goalie Kevin Keehn.
"We had a great mix of experienced leadership and new young talent to lead us to victory today. We had a stingy defensive effort led by
Corey Luebbe and
Jared Gillespie, but anchored by freshman goalie
Jake Lilly, who had an outstanding debut in cage," added Dugan.
A closer look at the numbers reveals Jesuit had a distinct advantage in two categories. Jesuit won 15 of 22 faceoffs and had 34 groundballs to Roberts Wesleyan's 20. "Luke Gillman was a ground ball machine that helped us quietly neutralize their offensive midfield," stated Dugan.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by Dom Cianfarano and Matt Benedict, who each had two goals apiece for the Red Hawks.
Wheeling Jesuit is now 1-0 on the season. The Cardinals return to action this Sunday when they travel to Syracuse, NY to take on LeMoyne College at 1pm.
