Wheeling, W. Va. – On Wednesday, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (2-4, 0-1) opened the 2024 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) schedule. They head to a quick turnaround this weekend as they continue that conference stretch on the road when they take on Walsh at 1 PM. The Cardinals are looking for that first conference win of the season as they ride the backs of an offense that has been strong throughout the season.
That offense continued its success last time out as they hit the road for their conference opener against Lake Erie College. The teams went back and forth throughout the early portion of the game, with Lake Erie getting on the board first and Wheeling responding. The teams were tied at 2-2 after the first quarter, and remained that way up until the final minutes of the first half. That's when Lake Erie would get their sixth goal of the day to take the slight advantage at 6-5 heading into halftime. As the As the second half started, Lake Erie came out scoring as they put up four goals in the third quarter, to just one for the Cardinals. Wheeling would flip the script in the fourth, scoring four goals to just two for Lake Erie, but it was too little too late as the Cardinals would fall to the Storm 13-10 to start conference play.
Despite the losing effort it was a big day for Jack Rowe, who set a new career-high with five goals on the day. He was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter, putting six of his eight shots on the night on goal, and five of those into the back of the net. He tied for the team lead with five points on the night and the effort pulled him up to fourth on the team with nine goals, setting his new career high in just his sixth game of the season. It was the second multi-goal game of the season for the sophomore and his first since February 17th against Davenport. After serving as a bench player a season ago, Rowe has found his way into the Cardinal's starting lineup and has made the most of his opportunities. He has a .517 shots on goal percentage and a .310 shooting percentage for the season as he looks to continue to drive the offense through GMAC play.
The other multi-goal scorer on the day for the Cardinals was senior Mike Andersson, who finished with three goals and a team-high two assists in the effort. He tied with Rowe for the team lead with five points on the day, and picked up his fifth hat trick of the season in six games played. He currently sits second in the GMAC with 18 goals and is on pace to match is record setting effort of 55 goals from a season ago. Along with one of the top goal-scorers in the conference, the Cardinals also feature the GMAC's Assist leader in junior Ty Taylor. Taylor leads the GMAC with 16 assists through six games and sits one point off Andersson's pace for the team lead with 23. Taylor and Andersson anchored the Cardinal's offense a season ago and they look to use their help this year down the stretch.
For Wheeling, their GMAC play is coming fast and furious as their first three GMAC games are being played over a seven-day span. After opening against Lake Erie Wednesday, the Cardinals follow with Walsh Saturday and Seton Hill on Tuesday as they begin the stretch run towards the GMAC playoffs. For the Cardinals, they will get a lot of time at home during that run, with six of their final seven games coming at home, beginning with Tuesday's meeting with Seton Hill. The Cardinals are 1-1 so far through their first two home games of the season and they will look to use that home field to their advantage as they head down the stretch.
The Matchup
The Cavaliers and Cardinals will be meeting for the 11th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 6-4. When they meet on the road, the Cardinals hold a 3-2 record and have had a lot of offensive success in the series, scoring an average of 12.2 goals per game during the stretch. However, Walsh has gotten the upper hand as of late, winning each of the last four games, as Wheeling looks for their first win over Walsh since March 24th, 2018.
In their most recent meeting, the Cardinals dropped a close game as they fell 13-10 to Walsh at Bishop Schmitt Field. The Cardinals were led on the day by Mike Andersson, he finished with four goals on 10 shots, putting eight of those on goal, while picking up five ground balls. Jacob Knippel was the other multi-goal scorer for the Cardinals, picking up two goals, while Austin Hall made 12 saves on 13 shots faced on the night.
The Details
Opening face-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM inside Larry Staudt Field on the campus of Walsh University. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
