Wheeling, W. Va. - The early season road schedule rages on for the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (2-1, 0-0) as they continue their stretch of three out of four games on the road on Saturday. This time, they take the trip to Frostburg, Maryland as they take on Frostburg State at 1 PM. The Cardinals are looking to bounce back after a tough loss last time out with their offense continuing to lead the way.
They started this stretch of road games a week ago when they traveled to Davenport in what was a tightly contested offensive battle. Early on, it was the Cardinals who took the advantage, needing just four minutes to get on the board, as they went ahead 2-1 in the first quarter. However, Davenport would get things going in the second, outscoring the Cardinals in each of the next two quarters. The Panthers went into halftime having tied the game at 5-5 and as the teams entered the final 10 minutes of play, Davenport would hold a 9-6 advantage. The Panthers would stretch that lead to 10-6 before the Cardinals came back with three straight goals to make it a one-goal game. However, it wasn't meant to be as Davenport would get the insurance goal they needed and went on to win by the final score of 11-10.
Wheeling had multiple players with multi-goal efforts for the third game in a row, and that offensive effort was led by Mike Andersson. Andersson picked up his third hat trick of the season and scored 3+ goals for the fourth time in his last five games, dating back to the 2023 season. Andersson once again leads the team's scoring effort this season, totaling 10 goals and 12 points as he builds off last season's historic effort. Andersson is currently chasing down a milestone marker, needing just 22 goals to reach the 150-goal mark for his career. Andersson has been one of the more efficient shooters for the Cardinals this season, putting 35.7% of his shots on net while holding a shots on goal percentage of 71.4% across the team's three games.
Also picking up a hat trick against Davenport was junior Brenner Chase, who has contributed two hat tricks in the last two games for the Cardinals. Chase is on a career-high pace on the offensive end, sitting second on the team with eight goals while holding the highest shooting percentage among eligible players at 57.1%. Chase was a strong support piece for the offense last season and is looking to breakthrough as a top scorer for the team this season. Rounding out that strong offensive attack against Davenport was Jack Rowe, who added two goals of his own in the winning effort. It was Rowe's first multi-goal effort of the season as he took advantage of his opportunities.
The Cardinal's offense has been the catalyst for the team's hot start, scoring 45 goals over their first three games. Entering play on Saturday, they are the top scoring offense in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) with those 45 goals and sit eight goals off the pace of Mercyhurst for the conference's top spot. They also hold the second highest shooting percentage in the conference (.331) along with the highest offensive margin at 7.3. On the defensive end, the Cardinals have allowed the fifth fewest goals in the conference, with 23, and have the third best save percentage at .589 behind Seton Hill and Mercyhurst. The Cardinals look to continue their success over these final two non-conference games before heading into GMAC play.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the third time in program history, with Frostburg holding the advantage at 2-0 during that stretch. It will be the second time the two teams have met in Frostburg, Maryland, with Frostburg State winning the previous meeting 18-6. The Cardinals have scored six goals of their own in each of the first two games against the Bobcats, and look to their potent offense to get more on the board in the third all-time meeting.
Last time out, the Cardinals welcomed Frostburg State to Bishop Schmitt Field, where Wheeling fell in a 20-6 contest. Ty Taylor would lead the Cardinals in the effort with his first career hat trick, while putting all six of his shots on the day on goal. Mike Andersson, Dakota Strong, and Brenner Chase would provide the final three goals of the day as the Cardinals fell on their home field.
The Details
The opening faceoff for Saturday's contest is scheduled for 1 PM inside Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Frostburg State University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
