North Canton, OH. - Heading into Saturday, the Men's Lacrosse team was riding high as they were set for a battle with Walsh with playoff implications. It was an offensive match throughout the afternoon, but the Cavaliers came out shooting early and the Cardinals were unable to battle back falling 14-2. The Cardinal's defense was strong early, but a five-run second was too much for the Cardinals to overcome as they dropped to 1-4 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) play.
It was the Cardinals that would take the opening face-off, but a turnover gave Walsh an opportunity as Joshua Wolford made a big save. They wouldn't be so lucky the second time around as another turnover gave Walsh another opportunity, and they scored to make it a 1-0 game. Turnovers were the name of the first half for Wheeling as they turned the ball over 13 times in the quarter. The Cavaliers would take advantage scoring three times in the quarter to take a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals were able to stay competitive in the first quarter, thanks to a five-save first quarter from Wolford.
However, as the game moved to the second quarter, the pressure would mount up as the Cavaliers rattled off five goals in the quarter. It took them just 40 seconds to get on the board as they scored at the 14:13 mark to make it a 4-0 Cavalier advantage. They would win the ensuing face-off and took that right to the net for their second straight goal as they led 5-0. The Walsh offense would stay potent throughout the quarter as they tacked on two more goals before the Cardinals got on the board. Wheeling would get that first goal with 6:48 left in the quarter, John Zaramba won his face-off and got the ball to Jacob Knippel. Knippel found the net for his first goal of the day and made it a 7-1 game. One more goal from Walsh would send the teams into the locker room with Wheeling trailing 7-1.
After taking some time to reflect, the Cardinals came out in the third looking to get the offense started. Once again, Walsh controlled the offense early, getting off five shots in the first five minutes. However, they couldn't find the net and Wheeling took advantage at the 9:53 mark. Brenner Chase got the ball in his stick and took it home for Wheeling's second goal of the day to make it an 8-2 game. However, Walsh would add three unanswered goals to turn it into an 11-2 game heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
Despite the deficit, the Cardinals continued to fight throughout the afternoon as they tried to work their way back into the game. Walsh continued to outshoot Wheeling, getting off 20 shots to the Cardinals 5, but Wolford continued to stand strong in net. He made four saves over the final 15 minutes before giving way to senior Dallin Isaacson. Isaacson played the final four minutes of the game and made three saves while not allowing a goal. After turning the ball over 10 times in the first, Wheeling calmed down the rest of the way and turned it over four times in the fourth. While not the result Wheeling wanted, they continued to battle hard no matter the score.
The two Cardinals goals on the afternoon came courtesy of sophomore Jacob Knippel and freshman Brenner Chase. Knippel led the way with six shots on the day, while teammates Mike Andersson got off four shots and Brody Fawver led the way with six shots. Unfortunately, both Andersson and Fawver were held off the board, breaking Andersson's string of seven straight multi-goal games. Wolford got the start and made 15 saves on 29 shots faced while Isaacson finished the day with three saves and no goals allowed.
The Wheeling Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Sunday, May 1st, when they take on Alderson Broaddus on senior day with opening faceoff at 1 PM.
