Wheeling, W. Va. - In March, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (3-6, 1-1) enjoyed a lot of time on their home field, with seven of their first nine games being played at Bishop Schmitt Field. As the calendar moves to April, the Cardinals will hit the road a little more, and it begins this weekend when they split Saturday and Sunday with one game at home and one on the road. The weekend begins on Saturday when the Cardinals head to Canton, Ohio for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) game against Malone before they come back home on Sunday for a non-conference game against Lewis.
Last time out, the Cardinals began their annual West Virginia series when they hit the road to face Davis & Elkins. The Cardinals offense was potent throughout the day, and it began with Wheeling and Davis & Elkins battling to a 5-5 score after the first quarter. The Cardinals would score five or more goals in three of the four quarters on the night, and their defense stepped up in the second and third, allowing just three Senator goals each to allow Wheeling to take a 17-11 lead heading into the fourth. Davis & Elkins wasn't done, getting on the board seven times in that fourth quarter, but the Cardinals were able to do just enough to hold them off and pick up the 20-18 victory.
Leading the way once again for the Cardinals was sophomore Ty Taylor, who finished the day with seven goals on 12 shots, putting seven of those shots on goal. For Taylor, it was his third game this season scoring five or more goals in a game, and it was the most goals scored for the sophomore since his record setting nine goal performance against D'Youville. With the effort, Taylor is back in a tie for the team lead with 34 goals this season and currently sits 12 goals away from the single-season goal record of 46, held by former Cardinal Derek Downs.
The player Taylor is tied with is junior Mike Andersson, who finished the Davis & Elkins game with five goals and tied Taylor for the team lead with 12 shots. Andersson is chasing down a milestone marker in his career as he enters the weekend with 87 career goals. He is just 13 goals shy of the 100 career goals mark as he looks to become the first player to reach that feat since the 2018 season. The final leading Cardinals scorer was sophomore Brenner Chase, who finished the night with three goals, scoring multiple goals for the second time this season. It was a season-high effort for the sophomore as he has taken his new role in helping to set the Cardinal's offense.
With the win last time out, the Cardinals moved to 1-1 in GMAC play as the race for the GMAC playoffs comes down to its final six games. Of their remaining six games, five come against GMAC opponents, including meetings with top dogs Seton Hill and Mercyhurst both coming at Bishop Schmitt Field. As they enter April, Wheeling sits in a three-way tie with Walsh and Davis & Elkins for the final playoff spot in the field. They sit one game ahead of Alderson Broaddus and Malone and 1.5 games behind conference leader Seton Hill. With the bulk of their conference schedule still ahead of them, Wheeling will try to grab hold of one of the top four spots to give them a chance to get back to the tournament.
The Matchups
Malone: The Cardinals and Pioneers will be meeting for the first time in program history on Saturday as they get back to GMAC play. In their first season as a program, Malone has gone 6-4 overall, but slipped up in GMAC play with a 0-2 record. They have taken on Seton Hill and Davis & Elkins so far in GMAC play, losing 12-11 to the Senators and 30-8 to the Griffins. The Cardinals look to hand them their third conference loss of the season and open the all-time series with a win.
Lewis: The Cardinals and Flyers are meeting for the second time in program history on Sunday, with Lewis winning the first meeting. It will be the first time that the two teams are meeting in Wheeling, West Virginia, after the Cardinals made the trip to Romeoville, Illinois last season. The Cardinals got the early lead in that first meeting, but Lewis came back to pick up an 18-6 win. Mike Andersson and Jacob Knippel led the way for the Cardinals in that meeting, scoring two goals each in the loss.
The Details
The opening faceoff for Saturday's weekend opener against Malone is scheduled for 1 PM at Pioneer Park on the campus of Malone University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
