Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (0-3, 0-0) wrapped up their weekend homestand on Sunday when they hosted Rockhurst at Bishop Schmitt Field. It was a strong start for the Cardinals, as they led by two at halftime, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Hawks 11-6. The Cardinals got a strong defensive effort in net, but in the end it was the Rockhurst offense that won the battle.

Things looked like they might get out of hand early on as Rockhurst scored two goals off the first two face offs on the day to take a 2-0 lead at the 13:39 mark of the first quarter. Rockhurst nearly scored a third goal in just the third minute of play, but the referees called off the goal due to a player being in the crease. That would flip the momentum Wheeling's way as they scored their first goal of the day on their next possession. After clearing the ball, Brenner Chase got the ball in his stick and moves through the Hawk defense. He hit Mike Andersson on the right corner of the net, and Andersson put te ball in the net to get Wheeling into the game at 2-1. Three minutes later, it was Andersson once again, this time taking a pass from Dakota Strong and the game was back even at 2-2.

Rockhurst would take the lead right back a minute later when Ricky Bloom found the net, and the score would remain 3-2 until the quarter came to an end. Starting goalie Austin Hall did his part, picking up two save chances and continued to play well throughout the afternoon. The second quarter began with a goal by Rockhurst's Lars Yarkosky before the Wheeling offense went on a roll. With 12:00 showing on the clock, Ty Taylor took a shot that went wide but he got the ball in his stick again. He would fake his shot and find Brenner Chase, who finished the play and made it a 4-3 game. Five minutes later, Wheeling would capitalize again when Brody Fawver sent the ball to Jacob Knippel, who tied the game at 4-4 with his first goal of the day.

Wheeling's offense just kept going and 20 seconds later Andersson was on the board again. He scored his third goal of the night taking the pass off the clear attempt and finding the goal for his team leading 11th goal of the year. Wheeling was staked to their first lead of the day and were riding after scoring three straight goals. They would add one more before the quarter ended as Taylor brought the ball up from the midline and found the back of the net for his second goal of the game. The Cardinals were up 6-4 and has four unanswered goals as the momentum was on their side. Hall made two big saves over the final two minutes of play and Wheeling headed into the second half looking to keep it going.

However, in the second half, Rockhurst showed why they are a team that has been nationally ranked in the past. The Hawks did not allow another Cardinal goal over the final 30 minutes of play and slowly started to take the lead back. Rockhurst out shot Wheeling 34-8 during that time and put 18 of those 34 shots on goal. Rockhurst put up five goals in the third and headed into the fourth quarter leading 9-6. They would put up two more goals over the final 10 minutes and brought the game to its final score of 11-6. Hall put in some of his best work of the day during the half, making 11 of his 17 saves in the half, and fell just short of his season-high of 18 saves which he posted against Quincy. His highest quarter save total came in the third quarter when he had seven saves on 11 shots faced.

Leading the way once again for the Cardinals was junior Mike Andersson, who finished with three goals on the afternoon. Andersson now brings his season total to 12 in three games, and is averaging 3.5 goals per game. Ty Taylor was the other multi-goal scorer for the Cardinals, adding two goals to the effort and added one assist on the day. Jacob Knippel was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter, putting both of his shots on goal and scoring one while Brenner Chase added the final goal of the day, his second goal of the season. In all three games this season, the Cardinals have been competitive and they are now looking to get over that hump.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, March 1st, when they host D'Youville with the Opening Faceoff at 4 PM.