Wheeling, W. Va. – With the Men's Lacrosse season just under two weeks away, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference has released their annual preseason poll. The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team finished 6th overall in the poll, receiving 11 points. Wheeling was picked ahead of conference for Alderson Broaddus, and look to continue to grow in their second year under head coach Nick Anagnostis.
During the 2021 season, Wheeling played 11 games and finished the year 1-10 while averaging 6.3 points per game. They picked up a win over Felician University in their second game of the season, and scored four or more goals in each of their final three games. The Cardinals were fifth in the GMAC in ground balls last season (290) and had a save percentage of .403 during the season. It was a young unit for the Cardinals last season, with 21 of their 23 players being either freshmen or sophomores. This season, Anagnostis and his staff have added 10 new players to their roster, and return some more experienced players to lead this group.
Leading the way on the defensive side of the ball are junior defenseman Matt Anderson and senor Goalie Dallin Isaacson. Isaacson returns as Wheeling's top goalie from the 2021 season, where he started all 11 games spanning 570 minutes in net. He compiled a save percentage of .398 during the season, and totaled 121 saves. Anderson was Wheeling's lone All-GMAC honoree last season, when he earned second team honors. Anderson was eighth in the Great Midwest last season with 4.36 ground balls per fame while averaging 3.0 caused turnovers per game. Both Anderson and Isaacson will play a big role in helping to lead the Cardinals' defense this season.
On the offensive side of the ball, Wheeling returns both of their top two scorers from last season in sophomores Mike Andersson and Jacob Knippel. Both players finished tied with 16 goals, but it was Knippel who led the team with 23 points. The sophomore attacker had a .398 shooting percentage in his 12 games played, and that averaged upped to .691 on shots on goal. Andersson finished one point behind Knippel on the season, with 22 points, adding six assists to his goal total of 16. He had 14 ground balls throughout the season and had a .320 shooting percentage and a .680 shot on goal percentage.
The 2022 season kicks off for the Wheeling Men's Lacrosse team on Saturday, February 12th, when they hit the road to face Lewis University. They play their second game the next day against Quincy University before coming back for their home opener on Saturday, February 19th against Davenport. That game kicks off a seven-game home schedule for the Cardinals that features match ups with Felician University, Rockhurst, and Davis & Elkins. Wheeling wraps up their season at home on senior day on Saturday, April 30th when they face Alderson Broaddus at 12 pm.
Leading the way in the 2022 Gret Midwest Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll was Mercyhurst, receiving 35 points and five first place votes. Finishing behind them were Seton Hill (32 pts. (2)) and Walsh (25 pts.). The rest of the Great Midwest preseason poll presented by Under Armour looks like this:
1. Mercyhurst
2. Seton Hill
3. Walsh
4. Lake Erie
5. Davis & Elkins
6. Wheeling
7. Alderson Broaddus
The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team kicks off their 2022 season on Saturday, February 12th, when they hit the road to face Lewis University at noon.
