Wheeling, W. Va. - Over their first four games of the 2023 season, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (1-3, 0-0) has had the luxury of playing on their home field. On Sunday, the team will be making its first road trip of the 2023 when they head down to Murfreesboro, North Carolina to take on Chowan on Sunday at 12 PM. The Cardinals had a record breaking game last time out against D'Youville and are looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
The Cardinals are coming off a game where they were just four points shy of the team goal record when they defeated D'Youville 29-10. The Saints would take the lead early in the game, but it wouldn't last long as the Cardinals came roaring back. They scored a season-high eight goals in the second quarter and headed into halftime leading 12-5. In the third quarter, the Cardinals saw history as sophomore Ty Taylor broke the single-game scoring record with his eighth goal of the game. The Cardinals put up eight more in the quarter and followed with nine goals in the fourth quarter and went on to win 29-10.
The Cardinals had two different players set the new single-game goal record as sophomore Ty Taylor and junior Mike Andersson each finished with nine goals. Taylor came out strong in the first half, scoring five first half goals, and broke the record at the 8:64 mark of the third quarter. He would extend the record to nine goals before being pulled from the game. Mike Andersson, had three goals in the first half and, after tying the record twice last season was within striking distance. He would score four third quarter goals and tied Taylor halfway through the fourth before being pulled. Both players finished with nine goals on the day as Andersson leads the team with 19 and Taylor is right behind him with 15.
The defense also played a big role in the historic win, with the Cardinals combining for 13 caused turnovers in the game. Leading the way was midfielder Zach Smiley, who finished with three followed by Gabriel Hennin with two. Hennin leads the Cardinals with eight caused turnovers through the first four games and has had at least two in every game he has played this season. Austin Hall had another strong start in net, saving nine of the 16 shots he faced on the day. Hall enters play on Sunday with a .538 save percentage and is fourth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) with 44 saves this season.
With just two more non-conference games remaining before the Cardinal's GMAC opener, the team is looking to build momentum before the race to the GMAC playoffs begins. They have been bringing the offense throughout the season, and have scored the fifth most goals in the conference with 42. Wheeling finished just outside the top four of last year's GMAC playoff race and will look to make their first run to the tournament since the 2018 season.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hawks are meeting for the second time in program history with Chowan taking the only meeting. This will be the first time that the Cardinals have made the trip to Murfreesboro, North Carolina, after meeting at Bishop Schmitt Field two seasons ago. The Cardinals scored six points in that game and are looking to continue that success on the road.
In their first meeting, Chowan got the win 16-6 as Wheeling was beginning to rebuild the program during the 2020 COVID-Shortened season. Jacob Knippel and former Cardinal Braiden Struss led the way with two goals while Brody Fawver and Jake Wodarek each had one goal. Former Cardinal Dallin Isacsson got the start in net and made nine saves on 27 shots faced.
The Details
The opening faceoff for Sunday's game is scheduled for noon at the soccer/lacrosse complex on the campus of Chowan University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats HERE.
