Wheeling, W. Va. – After battling through the early season non-conference schedule, it was time to open Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) play on Saturday. The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team fell behind early against Walsh and their comeback effort wasn't enough as they fell 13-10. The Cardinals scored seven of the Cardinal's 10 goals came in the final three quarters of play, but it wasn't enough to overcome a seven-run first quarter for the Cavaliers.

After falling behind 7-3 over the first 15 minutes of play, the Cardinals were looking to turn things around heading into the second. The quarter began with seven straight shots by the Cavaliers with the last of those finding the back of the net to extend their lead to 8-3. The Cardinals needed a spark and a caused turnover by Dakota Strong at the 10:27 mark did just that. The Cardinals rattled off three straight shots with the third of those being a pass from Jake Wodarek to Mike Andersson to find the back of the net. The shots just kept coming from the junior and at the 4:27 mark he was back in the net, scoring his third goal of the day to make it an 8-5 game. He would take one more shot before the period ended, but it wouldn't fall as the teams headed into the locker room with Walsh leading 8-5.

The third quarter started with another Walsh goal at the 11:52 mark of the quarter, but that one goal wouldn't last long. The Cardinals won the ensuing faceoff and rattled off five consecutive shots. After an unsuccessful clear attempt by Walsh, The Cardinals came back down the field and fed Andersson for his fourth goal of the day to make it a 9-6 game. That would be the start of the Cardinal's comeback as that put up three straight goals to make it a one-goal game. Brody Fawver scored the first of those two goals at the 7:05 mark and it was followed quickly by a Jacob Knippel goal that made it a 9-8 game. One more Walsh goal was added before the quarter let out and the Cardinals were within striking distance at 10-8 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Andersson's name was called once again as he brought the ball up and scored an unassisted goal to make it a 10-9 game. Four minutes later, Walsh added an insurance goal to make it 11-9 and the Cardinals would have to put their nose back to the grindstone. With 5:39 to play, Jack Rowe got the ball back for Wheeling off a turnover and connected with Ty Taylor to make is an 11-10 game with just over five to play. However, Walsh would add two more goals before the game was out as Wheeling dropped their GMAC opener 13-10. It was a hard fought game for the Cardinals and showed great growth from last season, when they lost the meeting 14-2.

Mike Andersson led the Cardinal's offense, scoring four goals and finishing with a team-high four points on the day. Andersson was able to leapfrog teammate Ty Taylor for the team lead in goals and now has 28 goals on the season. Jacob Knippel was the other multi-goal scorer for the Cardinals, putting in two goals and finishing with one assist. Jake Wodarek, Brody Fawver, Brenner Chase, and Ty Taylor would score the final four goals for the team Austin Hall once again got the start in net and would finish the day with 12 saves on 25 shots faced while Chase led the defense with two caused turnovers. With their first GMAC game in the books, Wheeling now looks to learn from it and continue to grow as the season goes on.

The Cardinals scored three goals in the first quarter of play and passed the ball around with three different players scoring a goal. Jake Wodarek got the scoring started on the day, bringing the ball up and finding the net just three and a half minutes into the game. Walsh would respond by tying the game before Jacob Knippel got it right back with an unassisted goal. Walsh came back with two straight goals and for the first time in the game the Cardinals were trailing. It wouldn't last long as the third unassisted goal of the quarter came from Brenner Chase, who moved passed a slew of Cavalier defenders. However, four straight Walsh goals would end up being the clincher despite the Cardinal's comeback efforts as they went on to fall 13-10.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Tuesday, March 21st, when they host Frostburg State at 4 PM.