Wheeling, W. Va. – On what was their final game of the 2023 season, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (5-10, 3-4) honored senior defenseman Batson Sheets on senior day. It was a tall task for the Cardinals as they were tasked with taking on the #4 team in the nation in Mercyhurst and they fell 21-6. The Cardinals finish the year with one more win than they had a year ago, as they continue to build the program under Head Coach Gage Bradshaw.

After three straight Lakers goals to start the game, the Cardinals would get on the board at the 10:55 mark. Christian Cliff would line up for the face-off and picked up the first face-off win for the team. He picked up the ground and dished it to Jake Wodarek, who made his way up field. He connected with Mike Andersson, who put in his 54th goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game at the 10:55 mark of the first. That was the lone Cardinal goal of the quarter, but goalkeeper Austin Hall did his job to keep his team in the game. He made five saves during that first quarter, on 10 shots on goal faced, and by the end of the quarter it was Mercyhurst 5, Wheeling 1. 

It didn't take long for the Cardinals to get one of those goals back thanks to some strong defense. Mercyhurst was once again down in the offensive zone, and Owen Worley got his stick in and created a big turnover. Hall would pick up the ball and the Cardinals had a successful clear and gave Brenner Chase the ball. Chase did the rest, cutting through the Laker defense and hit the back of the net to make it a 5-2 game. Mercyhurst would show why they are ranked as the #4 team in the nation, rattling off six straight goals to take a three goal game and make it an 11-2 game with eight minutes left before the half. Wheeling got their final goal of the first half at the 7:46 mark as Jack Rowe came around the back of the net and scored a diving goal. The Cardinals trailed 15-3 heading into the half and were looking to drum up more offense.

The first three goals of the third quarter went to the Lakers as they pushed it to an 18-3 lead before the Cardinals were back on the board. After another big save courtesy of Hall, Wheeling had a successful clear to start their offense again. It was another behind the net move as Ty Taylor dished the ball off to an open Andersson. Andersson converted for his second goal of the day and Wheeling got their fourth goal of the day to make it 18-4. One final Laker goal rounded out the quarter and heading into the final 15 minutes of play it was a 19-4 Mercyhurst lead. The fourth quarter would be the Cardinal's best defensive quartet of the game as they allowed just two Mercyhurst goals.

The Cardinals would score two goals of their own, after falling behind 21-4 as the Lakers wrapped up their scoring. Dakota Strong would get on the board at the 5:03 mark and Owen Doyle would score his first career goal at the 1:03 mark to bring the game to its final score. Batson Sheets would see his first action of the day in the final two minutes of the game and was part of the Cardinal's final defensive stand. He helped force a wide shot and as the final buzzer went off, his teammates surrounded him with hugs and high fives as his career came to an end.

The Cardinals were led on the day by junior Mike Andersson, who finished with two goals on the day. For Andersson he finished off a historic season, where he set the single-season goal mark with his 55th goal of the season, beating the old mark by 10 goals. The other five Cardinal goals came from five different players as Dakota Strong, Jack Rowe, Owen Doyle, and Brenner Chase finished their seasons with goals. Austin Hall got the start in net and ended his season with 17 saves on 38 shots faced for a save percentage of .447 for the day.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team now heads into the off-season as they look to build off this year's success in 2024.