North Canton, OH. - After opening Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) play on Wednesday, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (2-5, 0-2) hit the road on Saturday to keep it going. They got on the board early, but it wasn't enough as they dropped their second GMAC game of the year 9-6. The Cardinals had a pair of multi-goal scorers on the day and will now return home looking for their elusive first conference win. 

As they have done for most of the season, the Cardinals would get on the board in the game's first five minutes. They were outshot 3-0 over the first three minutes of the game, but found their way on the board after a successful clear attempt at the 12:08 mark. Brenner Chase would bring the ball around the net and found Jack Rowe, who continued his hot stretch, scoring his sixth goal over the last two games. It got the Cardinals out to a 1-0 lead and the defense would hold the line over the next eight minutes, keeping Walsh off the board. Wheeling would outshoot Walsh 8-2 over that span until the 4:09 mark when the Cavaliers evened things up at 1-1. Those would be the only two runs scored in the first as the two teams ended the quarter tied at that 1-1 score.

As the second quarter started, it took the Cardinals just 22 seconds to get back on top, as they won the opening faceoff and had their first shot was saved, the Cardinals came back strong. Jacob Knippel would get the ball in his stick and made the move around the defense to give Wheeling a 2-1 lead. It would be the start of a back and forth quarter as Walsh was on the board just under a minute later as they tied the game at 2-2. As the 10 minute mark rolled around, a groundball by Adam Zdanowicz got the Cardinal ball rolling. They would complete the successful clear and Chase would take it right to the net this time, scoring his first goal of the day to make it 3-2 with 10:08 to go before the half. However, that would be the final Cardinal goal of the half as the Cavaliers scored three unanswered, and the teams went into halftime with Walsh holding a 5-3 advantage.

The Cavaliers continued their scoring into the second half as Nick Hauenstein added the fourth consecutive goal and with 10 minutes to play in the quarter, Walsh led 6-3. A big save by Austin Hall got the ball back in Wheeling's offensive zone and they took advantage breaking the string of Cavalier goals. For the third time today, Chase would bring the ball into the offensive zone and for the second time on the day found an open man. This time, it was Mike Andersson, who got on the board for the first time on the night and made it a 6-4 game. During the middle two quarters of the game, it was Walsh who controlled the offense, outshooting the Cardinals 29-12 and they would add the final goal of the third quarter. With 10 minutes to play, the score sat at 7-4 in favor of Walsh and Wheeling was looking to make a late push.

Just like they did in the third quarter, the Cardinals came out fast once again in the 4th taking the first two shots. The second of those shots was Set up by Chase, who picked up his third assist on the day dumping the ball to Dylan Lavern. It was Lavern's first goal of the day And the Cardinals cut Walsh's lead to 7-5 with 13:36 to play. After Walsh put in their eighth goal of the day The Cardinals answered once again at the 8 minute mark. Andersson would find the net for the second time on the day, this time by himself as he made his way around the Cavalier defense. The score kept it a two goal game with the Cardinals remaining within striking distance. However, the final goal would come from Walsh with five minutes to play. With 25 seconds left Wheeling took a shot from Dylan Lavern, But the save was made bringing the game to its final score of 9-6.

Leading the way for Wheeling where a pair of multigol scorers in Brenner Chase and Mike Anderssson.  Chase was the Cardinals leader, finishing with two goals and two assists to total four points on the day. For Chase, it was his fifth multi-goal game of the season and the first time he had multiple assists. Andersson has now scored multiple goals in all seven games for the Cardinals this season with five of those being hat tricks. The other three Wheeling goals came courtesy of Jack Rowe and Jacob Knippel surround out the Cardinal offense. On the defensive side the Cardinals were led by Rowe and Adam Zdanowicz, who finished with three and two caused turnovers respectively. Goalkeeper Austin Hall finished with nine saves on 25 shots faced.

The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team Returns to action on Tuesday, March 19th, when they host Seton Hill with opening face off at 4 PM.