Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last few years, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (3-9, 1-4) has been rebuilding the program from the ground up thanks to solid leadership on the field. On Sunday, the Cardinals will take time to honor those leaders as part of their senior day ceremonies before their season finale against Alderson Broaddus at noon. The Cardinals have already improved their season win total by two games and are looking to make it a three-win improvement as they get ready to continue building their team during the off-season.
The last time the Cardinals took the field, it was a battle for their playoff lives as they took on Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) opponent Walsh with a spot in the playoffs on the line. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers came out scoring early and often as they put up eight first half goals to take an 8-1 lead over the Cardinals. They never let up in the second half, and Wheeling added just one more goal to finish the day with a 14-2 loss. The Cardinals battled hard throughout the afternoon, but just couldn't generate enough offense to keep up.
For the Cardinals, the offense came courtesy of Jacob Knippel and Brenner Chase, with each putting up one goal in the game. For Knippel, it kept his streak alive as he has now scored at least one goal in each of his last three games. Knippel now has 17 goals this season and has surpassed his total goal production from the previous season. Knippel has been a key piece of the Wheeling offense that includes a plethora of goal scorers. Brenner Chase has had a strong freshman campaign so far, notching his seventh goal of the season in the loss.
One player that was held off the board was sophomore Mike Andersson, breaking a string of seven straight games where he scored at least one goal. Andersson still sits at 30 goals for the season and will end up falling just short of the program record for goals in a season of 45 set by Derek Downs. Joshua Wolford continued his strong freshman season in net and made 15 saves on 29 shots faced in net. Wolford ranks second in the GMAC with 149 saves this season and ranks sixth in save percentage at .502.
While the Cardinals are officially out of the GMAC playoff hunt, they have one more opportunity to perform in front of their home fans. They will be honoring their two seniors, Matt Anderson, and Dallin Isaacson, before the game as part of their senior day ceremony. The Cardinals have secured all three of their wins at home, where they are 3-2 this season, and they look to add another win to that total and produce a .500 record on their home field.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Battlers will be meeting for the ninth time in program history on Sunday, with the Cardinals going 6-2 in the eight previous meetings. Wheeling has dominated the all-time series at home, going 3-0 at Bishop Schmitt Field, but they are looking for their first win against the Battlers since 2018. Wheeling has averaged 16.5 goals per game against the Battlers during the series as they look to keep their home winning streak alive.
The last time these two teams met was last season in a game that saw Alderson Broaddus pull out the 14-7 victory. Wheeling had the lead heading into halftime at 5-4, but a nine goal third quarter for the Battlers was enough to sink Wheeling in what was their season finale. Mike Andersson scored five of his team's seven goals on the day to lead the way in the previous matchup, and looks for another successful day this time around.
The Details
The opening face-off for Sunday's finale is scheduled for noon at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
