Painesville, OH. – The inside track to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) playoffs was on the line on Saturday as the Wheeling Men's Lacrosse team (4-9, 2-3) hit the road to face Lake Erie College. The Cardinals took an early lead, but it wasn't enough as they fell 19-7 and dropped to 2-3 in GMAC play. Despite the loss, it was a historic day for the program as junior Mike Andersson tied the single season goal record, putting through his 46th goal of the season.

Andersson led the way with three points on the day and was one of seven different goals scorers for the Cardinals on the day. It was his 46th goal of the season for the junior, tying him with former Cardinal Derek Downs for the most goals in a single season in program history. The goal came in the third quarter of the game as he helped the Cardinals get back to within four goals of the Storm to make I a 7-3 game. The other six Cardinals goals came from five different goals scorers, with junior Brody Fawver leading the way with two goals. Jacob Knippel, Dylan Mathias, Jake Wodarek, and Mitchell Park scored the final four goals of the day to round out the offense. Coming off setting the single-game saves record, Austin Hall had another big day in net, making 16 saves on 35 shots faced for a .457 save percentage.

The first goal of the day didn't take long to go through as Lake Erie won the opening face-off and headed for their offensive zone. They converted on their first shot on net of the day and took a 1-0 lead a minute into the game. Wheeling would take the next shot on goal on their next possession, as Jake Wodarek had a shot saved, but the junior came right back. He would score an unassisted goal on his next attempt and, with 11:34 to go in the quarter it was tied at a 1-1 game. It was a back and forth game throughout the first quarter, as the teams traded the next four shots before Wheeling once again had the ball. Ty Taylor, the Cardinals second leading scorer this season, brought the ball around the net and found Brody Fawver for the first goal of the day to make it a 2-1 Cardinal's lead.

They would hold that 2-1 lead into the second quarter and the back and forth between the two teams continued. Each team had two possession work of shots before Lake Erie College came back to tie the game at the 10:22 mark in the second quarter. It was the first of five straight goals for the Storm as they built a 6-2 lead over the next 10 minutes of play. During that time, Wheeling had their share of opportunities, taking six shots, but couldn't find the net. They were outshot 20-6 in the quarter and as the teams broke for the locker room, it was Lake Erie College that had the lead at 6-2. The Cardinals looked to come out strong in the second half with the game still very much in reach in a big matchup.

The third quarter would start with another Lake Erie goal before the Cardinals offense got going again. After a turnover gave the Cardinals the ball back, a ground ball by Owen Worley helped Wheeling convert the clear. Mitchell Park would be the one to bring the ball into the offensive zone and found Andersson for his record tying goal. It made it a 7-3 game to get the Cardinals within four goals. Lake Erie College would respond with two more goals before Park got in on the goal scoring action himself. After a Lake Erie turnover, the Cardinals converted a clear and Park once again brought the ball up the field. He would go all the way to the net, scoring an unassisted goal and make it a 9-4 game with 10:41 to go in the quarter.

Lake Erie College scored the next four goals and in the final seconds of the quarter it was 13-4. Andersson would assist on the final goal of the quarter as he found Dylan Mathias with 18 seconds to go in the quarter and Wheeling made it a 13-5 game heading into the fourth quarter. Wheeling would come out swinging in the fourth quarter taking the first four shots and converted on the fifth. Taylor once again connected with Fawver for their second goal and assist of the day as Wheeling made it a 13-6 game. Lake Erie would score six straight goals to secure the victory and make it a 19-6 game. The final Cardinal goal would come with six seconds to play as Andersson connected with Jacob Knippel for his first goal of the day as the game came to its final score of 19-7.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Sunday, April 23rd, when they hit the road to battle Alderson Broaddus at 1 PM.