Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (4-7, 2-1) played the second of two weekend games on Sunday when they hosted Lewis University. The Flyers came into the game ranked in the nation and the Cardinals battled but fell 21-5. It moved their weekend record to 1-1 and they fell to 4-7 on the season.

The Flyer's defense was strong early on and Lewis was on offense for a majority of the first quarter. The Cardinals were outshot 11-7 during that first quarter and couldn't find a way to break through on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Lewis University was able to score four goals during the first 15 minutes of play and had a 4-0 lead after one quarter of play. Wheeling goalkeeper Austin Hall had his work cut out for him, facing nine shots on net and he made saves on five of those shots. He kept his team within striking distance as the Cardinal's offense tried to find a way to break through. Of their nine shots, the Cardinals put just two of those shots on net and we're looking for more efficiency.

The second quarter started with Lewis coming out firing again, scoring six straight goals to extend their lead to 10-0 with 5:59 left before the half. Then, the Cardinals were able to breakthrough with their first scoring chance of the afternoon. The Cardinals forced a turnover and got the ball back in their offensive zone. Jacob Knippel brought the ball back from behind the net and found Ty Taylor open in front of the net. Taylor converted on the opportunity and got the Cardinals on the board to make it a 10-1 game with 3:26 to play. Two more Flyers goals would end the first half and the two teams went into the break with Wheeling trailing 12-1. The Cardinals were much more efficient in that second half, putting three of their five shots on net and looked to continue that efficiency in the second half.

The second half started with three straight goals from Lewis as they pushed their lead to 15-1 before the Cardinals got back on the board. After a clear attempt from the Cardinals, Taylor took a shot that was saved before a Lewis penalty gave the ball back to the Cardinals. Dakota Strong took a shot that went wide before Taylor got the ball back in his stick. He dished it off to Mike Andersson, who found the net for his 45th goal of the season to make it a 15-2 game. The goal put him just one shy of the single season goal record and was a big boost for the Cardinals. That would be there only goal of the quarter and after three the Flyers were staked to a 16-2 lead.

As the fourth quarter began, Lewis went to their bench, subbing in almost everyone, as the Cardinals looked to end the game strong. It would take them just a minute and a half to get on the board after a ground ball by Gabriel Hennin got the ball back in the Cardinal's offensive zone. The Cardinals brought in Jack Rowe on offense and he immediately paid dividends. Dylan Lavern came around the back of the net and found Rowe with a chance in the corner. Rowe took advantage, launching his first goal of the day into the top right corner of the net to make it a 16-3 contest. Rowe would assist on the next Cardinals goal as he made a pass to Brody Fawver, who converted to make it a 17-4 game. The Cardinal's final goal of the day came courtesy of Taylor and the Cardinals would end the day falling 21-5.

Taylor was the only multi-goal scorer on the day for the Cardinals, finishing with two goals on the afternoon. Mike Andersson, Jack Rowe, and Brody Fawver added the other three goals on the day to round out the Wheeling offense. Austin Hall would get the start in net and made 11 saves on 27 shots faced on the day. Joshua Wolford subbed in for the game's final 18 minutes and made six saves on 11 shots faced on the night. The Cardinals now dropped to 4-7 overall and will now solely focus on GMAC play the rest of the way.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday, April 8th, when they host Seton Hill at 1 PM.