Sparks, MD. – On Saturday, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (0-1, 0-0) traveled to the USA Lacrosse Facility in Sparks, Maryland as they opened the 2025 season. They would battle Chestnut Hill in what would be a shootout between the two teams, with Wheeling coming out on the losing end of a 16-10 score. The teams went back and forth early, but a big 30 minute stretch between the second and third quarters were enough to sink the Cardinals.
Both offenses would come out aggressive, with three shots on goal being fired off in the first three minutes of play. After a pair of saves by Austin Hall to start things off, it was Dylan Lavern who would take the first Cardinal shot of the season, but it found the goalie's stick keeping the game scoreless. Chestnut Hill's Noah Hammond was the first to get on the scoreboard, but Wheeling was quick to respond. Jack Rowe would score the first Cardinal goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Chestnut Hill would respond with back-to-back goals that put them out to a 3-1 lead as the Cardinals tried to respond. Hall did his part to keep the Cardinals in the game, making six saves over the 15 minute period, and the Cardinals would reward him as time was running out. After a successful clear attempt, Dakota Strong would go coast-to-coast, firing his first goal of the season to the back of the net, bringing the score to 3-2 after one quarter of play.
Chestnut Hill's Mick Kilagallon got the Griffins back to a two-point lead to start the second quarter and began a four-goal back and forth between the two teams. Ty Taylor would score both goals for the Cardinals, being assisted by Rowe on the first goal and Gabriel Hennin on the second goal. The Cardinals made it a 5-4 game with five minutes left in the half, but the Griffins went on their biggest scoring spree of the day, racking off three straight goals as they expanded their lead to 8-4. With just over a minute to play before the break, The Cardinals would get one more goal as Trenton Rogers handled the ball behind the net. He would send a pass to Finn Wotton, who completed the play with his first career Cardinal goal. It sent the game into halftime with the Cardinals trailing 8-5, showing they could go shot for shot with the Griffins.
As the teams broke from the locker room, the Cardinals would inch closer as Ty Taylor scored his third goal of the day. He would take the pass from Brenner Chase and found the back of the net to make it a two-point game. However, that is as close as the Cardinals would get as Chestnut Hill responded with five straight goals over the next 13 minutes and turned what was an 8-6 game into a 13-6 affair. The Cardinals would get two of those goals back as the quarter winded down with Brenner Chase getting on the board first taking the opening face-off and finding the back of the net for his first goal of the season. The final goal would come on the next possession as a Chestnut Hill Penalty gave Wheeling new life. Rowe would swing the ball from behind the net and found Lavern, who ended the quarter with his first goal to make it a 13-8 game.
As they headed into the final quarter, Chestnut Hill would end up sealing the deal, scoring three of the first four goals of the quarter. The lone Cardinal goal on the run came from Taylor, who scored his fourth goal of the day, assisted by Rowe, rounding out a big start to the season for the senior. With the Cardinals trailing 16-9, they would get off three more shots over the final five minutes of play. The first came from Dakota Strong, who had his shot saved, but he came back on the rebound. He would score his second goal of the day unassisted and made it a 16-10 game with just under two minutes to play. Wheeling would end up getting one more shot off, courtesy of Lavern, but it went high and the Cardinals would end up falling by the 16-10 final score.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Ty Taylor, who started his season strong with four goals while tying for the team lead with four points. He would end up taking four shots on the day, putting three of those on net as he takes over as the team's offensive leader in 2025. Jack Rowe would tie with him for the team-high in points with four and led the way with three assists, while adding a goal of his own to round out the day. Dakota Strong was the other multi-goal scorer for the Cardinals, finishing with two, while Dylan Lavern and Finn Wotton rounded out the scoring for the Cardinals. Austin Hall would have a big day in net, making 18 saves on 34 shots faced for a .529 save percentage.
The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday, February 22nd, when they hit the road to face Holy Family at noon.
