Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (1-5, 0-1) went to overtime on Saturday morning, and picked up a big win over Felician 8-7. It was the first win for Wheeling Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Gage Bradshaw, and the first win for the team at home since April 28th, 2018. For many of these young Cardinals, it was the first win of their careers on their home field and gives them confidence heading into next week's game.

As time ticked away at the end of regulation, the teams were knotted up at 7-7, forcing Wheeling's first overtime game of the season. With four minutes and a winner take all opportunity, Wheeling won the opening face-off and had a chance to win the game right off the bat. Freshman Brenner Chase, who has been hot over his last few games, wound up and took the first shot at the net, but it ended up going wide. Brody Fawver was next, taking his shot at the 3:07 mark, but it also went wide and the Golden Falcons went on the attack. They got off three more shots over the next minute and a half, but Josh Wolford made the save and got Wheeling the ball back. Then, with 1:15 left in overtime, Wheeling successfully cleared the ball and fed it to Knippel with an open shot. He scored and secured Bradshaw's first win as a collegiate Head Coach.

For Knippel, it was his second goal of the day as he finished with a team-high five points in the contest. He finished the day with two goals and also led the way with three assists while taking six shots a putting three of those shots on goal. The offensive effort was led by sophomore Mike Andersson, who scored three goals on the day with one assist. The Cardinals ended the day with three goal scorers in double digits as Brody Fawver ended the day with three goals of his own. In net Joshua Wolford made his sixth start of the season, and earned his first collegiate win in net. He allowed seven goals on the day but came through with 15 saves on 22 shots on net. He made the biggest save of the day when it mattered in overtime to set up the victory.

At the start of the game, Wheeling came out hot winning the opening face-off and taking the first shot less than a minute later. The team's battled back and forth for a majority of that first quarter, with neither team able to take the advantage. Wheeling had gotten off six shots over the first 11 minutes, but none of them found the back of the net. Then, Felician scored the opening goal at the 3:25 mark and put Wheeling behind 1-0. Wheeling wouldn't let that stop them as Knippel netted Wheeling's first goal of the game 50 seconds later and tied the game at 1-1. The Cardinals would score two more goals before the quarter let out, with Fawver and Andersson both scoring their first goals of the game and Wheeling led 3-1 after one-quarter of play.

As the second quarter began, Wheeling kept their momentum going as they rattled off five shots in the first five minutes. They would get back on the board at the 8:25 mark as Knippel got in on his first assist of the game. He fed the ball to Fawver, who scored his second goal of the day and Wheeling extended its lead to 4-1. The Cardinals were flying high before halftime, but the Golden Falcons would not go down quietly. They scored a goal with 32 seconds to play and went into halftime with the Cardinals ahead 4-2. As the third quarter began, Felician used that momentum to their advantage, scoring four unanswered goals in the third quarter and turned the deficit into a 6-4 advantage over Wheeling as the game moved to the fourth quarter.

As the fourth quarter began, Wheeling controlled the ball and needed at least two to tie and three to win. They got back on the board at the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter when Mitchell Park sent a pass to Dakota Strong. Strong found the net for his first goal of the day and it was back to a one-goal Felician advantage. Four minutes later, Mike Andersson came back and tied the game with his second goal is the day as he was assisted by Jake Wodarek. It looked as though the Cardinals would win the game in regulation as with two minutes left they took their first lead since the start of the third quarter. Knippel picked up his third assist of the day when he found Andersson, who scored his third goal and made it a 7-6 Wheeling advantage. However, Felician responded seconds later with their seventh goal and forced the overtime period. Wheeling took it from there and went on to win the game on the Knippel goal.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team will return to action on Sunday, March 13th, when they host St. Thomas University with opening Face-Off at noon.