Wheeling, W. Va. - After fighting through four straight non-conference games to begin the season, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team is set to embark on their Great Midwest Athletic Conference schedule on Tuesday. They open things up by taking on Seton Hill on Tuesday at 3 PM in Greensburg, PA. The Cardinals were picked sixth in the annual GMAC Preseason Men's Lacrosse poll, and they are looking to beat that ranking in their second season of GMAC competition.
Last time out, the Cardinals put together their best offensive game of the season when they scored 10 goals, but fell on the road to Roberts Wesleyan 17-10. The Cardinals had a strong first half, scoring a season-high six goals in the second quarter to tie the game at 8-8, but it wasn't enough as the Redhawks scored four goals in the final two minutes of the quarter and went into halftime ahead 12-8. The second half saw Roberts Wesleyan tack on five more goals in the second half and Wheeling added two goals to bring the game to its final score of 17-10.
Brenner Chase led the offense for Wheeling, scoring a team-high three goals and one assist, and he has come alive over his last few games. After scoring his first career collegiate goal back on February 19th against Davenport, Chase has turned around and scored four goals over his last two games. During that span, he has led the team with eight shots and put six of those eight shots on net. He adds another dimension to an offense that already has guys like
Mike Andersson and
Jacob Knippel who can score day in and day out.
Wheeling finished the day with two other multi-goal scorers on the day with Knippel and
Brody Fawver each adding two goals in the game. Andersson did not score a goal in the game, but he was still a big part of the offense with two assists throughout the afternoon.
John Zaramba and
Mitchell Park each scored the first goals of their career while
Jake Wodarek added the final goal of the day for the Cardinals. It was the team's biggest offensive output since April 17th, 2021, when they scored 11 goals against Davis & Elkins.
As the Cardinals officially kick off conference play, they look to build off of what they have done through their non-conference schedule and apply it on the field. Last season, the team did not win a conference game, grabbing their lone win of the season against Felician as they gained experience on the field. Now, they know what to expect heading into their schedule and will look to take down some of their conference opponents and fight for a postseason berth.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Griffins are meeting for the fifth time in team history as Wheeling looks for their first win. They have gone a combined 0-4 against the Griffins over the four previous matchups and are scoring an average of eight goals per game. The Cardinals have played Seton Hill in Wheeling for three of their four games and are heading to Greensburg, PA for the second time in team history. Tuesday will mark the first meeting between the two teams since 2019 when Seton Hill beat Wheeling at Bishop Schmitt Field 21-8.
In that most recent meeting, former Cardinals Michael Schonhiutt and Patrick Coggins each registered two goals as part of the eight-goal attack for Wheeling. The Cardinals split their offense scoring four goals in each half and finished the game with a strong three-goal fourth quarter. However, it wasn't enough against the high-powered Seton Hill offense as they fell 21-8.
The Details
The opening Face-off for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 3 PM in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
