Wheeling, W. Va. - They opened the home half of their 2022 schedule last week and now the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (0-3, 0-0) hits the road again for the third time in their first four games. The Cardinals hit the road to take on Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday at 1 PM as they look for their first win of the season. The Cardinals will look for their first road win since the 2019 season when they defeated Dominican (NY) 17-16 in overtime.
The last time Wheeling took the field, they battled against Davenport University and fell just short 10-6 in their home opener. Eight of the Panthers 10 goals came in the first half as they fell behind 8-3 when the teams broke for the locker room. However, the Cardinals came out in the second half and would outscore Davenport 3-2 over the final 30 minutes of play. The Cardinals nearly were able to creep back into the game, but the early hole was just two much to overcome as they fell to 0-3 in their non-conference schedule.
Sophomore Mike Andersson kept his hot streak going on offense, leading the team with two goals and one assist in the loss to Davenport. He was tied for the team lead in shots with eight while also tying for the team lead with four shots falling on net. Andersson is tied for third in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) in goals with five and is sixth in the conference in assists with three. It has been a strong start to his sophomore campaign as he leads Wheeling's offensive effort so far this season.
There was also a special moment late in the game against Davenport as freshman Brenner Chase scored his first collegiate goal to make it a 9-4 game. The goal came halfway through the third quarter as Chase received a pass from Jake Wodarek and made an inside move to score the goal. Wheeling also received goals from Jacob Knippel, Matt Anderson, and Dakota Strong in the loss as the Cardinals played better as the game went on.
Saturday's game will be the team's final non-conference game before the start of GMAC play on Tuesday when they take on Seton Hill. It gives the Cardinals one more chance to get their offense right and they are trending up heading into Saturday's match. Through their first three games of the season, Wheeling is averaging five goals per game and has scored six goal twice on the season. They are showing more offensive abilities this season as they gained another year of experience last year and continue to move the program forward.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Redhawks will be meeting for the third time in program history on Saturday with Wheeling holding the all-time advantage at 2-1 against Roberts Wesleyan. The Cardinals average 10.67 goals per game against the Redhawks with all three of the previous games having been played in Wheeling. This will be the first time that the Cardinals take on Roberts Wesleyan on the road as they look to bounce back from a loss in their meeting last season.
The Redhawks won last season's meeting 23-4, spreading out the scoring evenly over the game's four quarters. The Cardinals got four goals by four different players with Dakota Strong, Jake Wodarek, Brody Fawver, and Mike Andersson all getting on the scoreboard. The Cardinals are looking to spread the ball around and get multiple players involved once again on the road.
The Details
The opening face off on Saturday is scheduled for 1 PM on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
