Wheeling, W. Va. - With the Men's Lacrosse season at an end, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) released their annual All-GMAC teams on Thursday. The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team is coming off another season of improvement that saw them go 5-10 overall, their most wins since the 2018 season, and 3-4 in GMAC play. Due to their hard work, they have one player honored as junior Attack Mike Andersson took home First Team All-GMAC honors for the first time in his career.
Andersson played a big role in the team's success this season, helping them to the most wins since the 2018 season and the third straight season in which they have improved their overall record from the year before. After starting the season 0-3, the Cardinals came back with big wins against D'Youville and Chowan to bring their record to 2-3. They would fall just short against Davenport in their final non-conference preseason game and jumped into their GMAC schedule. They were fully in the playoff race until the final week of the regular season when they had to beat Mercyhurst and have Walsh fall to Alderson Broaddus to clinch the fourth and final spot. Unfortunately, that didn't happen as the Cardinals fell to the Lakers, ending their season but continuing the growth of the program.
It was a historic season for Andersson, who broke the single-game and single-season goal records in the same season. He broke the single-game record multiple times, posting nine goals along with teammate Ty Taylor to initially break the mark against D'Youville, before beating that record with 10 goals against Davis & Elkins a few weeks later. When all was said and done, he beat the single-season goal record by nine goals, finishing with 55 on the season. He coupled that with nine assists to total 64 points across his 15 games played this season and finished with a .427 shooting percentage. He led the GMAC in goals (55), goals per game (3.67) and was tied for third in the conference with 64 points.
For Andersson, it is the first First Team All-GMAC honor of his career and the second total All-Conference mark he has received. Last season, Andersson was named a Second Team All-GMAC player, when he set what was then a career-high in goals. He scored at least one goal in all but one game this season, with the Seton Hill game being the only one he was shutout in and had seven or more goals on three different occasions. With Andersson, Taylor, and Jacob Knippel all returning on the Wheeling attack, the Cardinal's offense looks to be a strong point for the team for seasons to come.
To view the full list of All-GMAC Men's Lacrosse honorees, click HERE. The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team now heads into the off-season as they look to continue their progression and prepare for 2024.
