Wheeling, W. Va. – With their non-conference schedule in the rearview mirror, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (4-7, 2-1) begins the run towards the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) playoffs. They begin the run with a battle with #14 Seton Hill on Saturday at Bishop Schmitt Field with the Opening Faceoff scheduled for 1 PM. Each of their final four games come against GMAC opponents, and the Cardinals need at least two wins to give them a chance to make the tournament.

Last weekend, the Cardinals had their ups and downs, picking up their second GMAC win of the season against Malone before dropping their non-conference game to Lewis 21-5. On the first game of the weekend, the Wheeling offense continued their success, putting up 15 or more goals for the fourth time this season. The Cardinals took a 4-3 lead after one quarter and continued their onslaught with six goals in the second and five goals in the third to build their lead. Malone battled back late to get within three goals of the Cardinals, but Wheeling held on for the 17-14 victory. They then came home the next day to face nationally ranked Lewis and were burdened by a slow start that saw them trail 12-1 at halftime. They scored four of their five goals in the second half of the game, but it wasn't enough as they dropped to 4-7 overall with a 21-5 loss.

Leading the way for the Cardinals throughout the weekend was junior Mike Andersson, who combined for 11 goals between the two games. His biggest performance came against Malone on Saturday, where he broke the Wheeling Men's Lacrosse single-game scoring record with 10 goals in the 17-14 win. He took 14 shots in that game, putting 13 of those on goal for a shot on goal percentage of 92.8%. He added a 71.4 shooting percentage for the day to help move his team into a tie for third place in the GMAC standings. He finished with one goal in the game against Lewis, bringing his weekly total to 11. Andersson has a few career milestones on the line entering Saturday's game that he looks to achieve. He is just one goal away from tying the single-season goal record of 46, set by Derek Downs in 2018, and is two goals away from reaching the 100-goal mark for his career, and both milestones are within reach this weekend.

Along with Andersson's success, the Cardinals have seen a lot of success off the bench courtesy of Jack Rowe. Rowe has been a sub late in games this season and he has scored at least one goal in each of his last three games. His best of those three games came last time out against Lewis when he finished with one goal and one assist to total two points on the day. Rowe got the Cardinals on the board to start the fourth quarter, taking a pass from Dylan Lavern to find the net. On the next possession, he found an open Brody Fawver and the Cardinals got back on the board to make it a 17-4 game. The offense has been stepping up lately, with the Cardinals scoring 17 or more goals in two of their last three games. They look to continue that success against one of the top teams in the country on their home field this weekend.

As they enter the final four weeks of the regular season, the race for the 2023 GMAC tournament is on with the top four teams in the conference making the tournament. Wheeling is currently sitting in a tie for third in the conference with Davis & Elkins with a conference record of 2-1 and is a half-game behind Mercyhurst for second in the conference. They sit one game behind Seton Hill for the top spot and a win on Saturday could move them as high as a tie for first place in the conference. Wheeling currently sits at 4-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play and a win on Saturday would give them their best season since the 2018 playoff run.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Griffins will be meeting for the 14th time in program history on Saturday, with Seton Hill leading the all-time series with a record of 8-5. The Cardinals are 2-4 when they play at Bishop Schmitt Field against Seton Hill and will be playing a home game against the Griffins for the first time since the 2011 season. The two teams have split each of the past four meetings, with the streak going to Seton Hill, who has won each of the last two contests.

Last season, Wheeling and Seton Hill met in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in a game that the Griffins would win 25-5. Jake Wodarek would lead the way for the Cardinals, finishing with two goals, one assist, and a team-high three points on the day. The other three Cardinal goals came courtesy of Mike Andersson, Brody Fawver, and Dylan Mathias to round out the offense's day. Former Cardinal Dallin Isaacsson got the start and made nine saves on the day while former Cardinal Christian Nestor backed him up with three saves on seven shots faced.

The Details

Opening faceoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.