Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (2-3, 0-0) has been riding high lately, scoring 45 goals over their last two games as they have won back-to-back games. They look to keep that streak alive on Friday when they return home to host Davenport with the opening faceoff at 4 PM. The Cardinals are looking to win three games in a row for the first time since the 2018 season when they won three in a row from March 24th – March 30th.
Last time out, the Cardinals took on their first road game of the 2023 season as they made the trip to Murfreesboro, North Carolina to take on Chowan. After falling behind early, the Cardinals would battle back with five unanswered goals and led 5-3 after the first quarter. The Cardinals offense just kept coming over the next two quarters, with the Cardinals scoring six and five goals respectively, and the Cardinals found themselves ahead 16-11 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. However, Chowan would hold Wheeling off the board over those final 10 minutes, but the Cardinals held off the Hawks to pick up a 16-15 win to move their record to 2-3 on the season.
Leading the way on offense for the second game in a row was sophomore Ty Taylor, who finished with five goals on the day. He was second on the team with 12 shots, but was the most efficient shooter, putting 58.3% of those shots on goal. He also added two assists on the day, to add seven points to his season. Taylor is second on the team with 20 goals this season but leads the team with 28 points through his first five games. Both are career highs for the sophomore as he continues to lead a strong Cardinals offense.
Following behind him is junior Mike Andersson, who leads the team with 22 goals and is second with 26 points this season. He has scored at least three goals in each of the first five games this season and, along with Taylor, broke the single-game goal record against D'Youville when he scored nine goals. The defense was led by reigning Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Defensive Player of the Week Gabriel Hennin. Hennin finished the weekend with a combined six turnovers against D'Youville and Chowan. He had one of those Caused Turnovers against Chowan and added two ground balls to wrap up the day.
After hitting the road last Sunday, the Cardinals will come back to the friendly confines of Bishop Schmitt Field for the next three games in a row. Of the Cardinals 15 games this season, 10 of those came at home with seven of those coming in the first eight games of the season. Wheeling has played well on their home field with a record of 1-2 while averaging 12.6 goals per game on their home field. The Cardinals look to continue to take advantage of their home crowd and pick up one more big win before the start of GMAC play next weekend.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Panthers are meeting for the second time in program history on Friday, with Davenport leading the all-time series with a record of 1-0. This will be their second meeting at Bishop Schmitt Field after starting the all-time series last season. The Cardinals scored six goals in that game and are looking for a similar performance this time around.
Davenport would win that first meeting in a close game that saw them pick up a 10-6 victory. Mike Andersson led the way with five goals in that meeting, while adding one assist and three points on the day. Jacob Knippel, Dakota Strong, Brenner Chase, and former Cardinal Mat Anderson added the other four goals in the loss. Joshua Wolford got the start in net and made 16 saves on 26 shots faced throughout the afternoon.
The Matchup
Opening Face-off for Friday's game is scheduled for 4 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
