Wheeling, W. Va. - Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) men's lacrosse play continued Saturday afternoon at Bishop Schmitt Field with the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (2-2, 1-1) hosting Frostburg State. It was a back and forth defensive battle throughout the day, but in the end the Bobcats would pick up a 9-7 win. It was a big day in net for senior goalie Austin Hall, as the Cardinals moved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Hall would set a new career high in the effort finishing with 19 saves on 29 shots faced on the afternoon. It was good enough for a .655 save percentage and marked the fourth straight game that Hall has finished with 18 or more saves. On the offensive end it was senior Ty Taylor leading the way with three goals on six shots, five of those landing on net. Brenner Chase was the other multi goal scorer for the Cardinals, finishing with two, while Trenton Rogerson and Dylan Lavern each added goals to round out the day. Dakota Strong led the passing game finishing with two assists, while Landon Gallagher and Adam Zdanowicz led the defense with four caused turnovers a piece. The defense as a whole played big throughout the day, with nine different players finishing with at least one caused turnover.
Early on, it was the Cardinals who had the momentum needing just 3 minutes to get on the board. After Hall got his day started with his first save Dylan Lavern would bring the ball into the Cardinal offensive zone. He would connect with Ty Taylor for the first goal of the day as Wheeling went on top 1-0. Not even a minute later Ryder McCall would force a caused turnover on a Bobcats clear attempt and Wheeling would add another quick strike score. Taylor pick up the ground ball and flipped to Brenner Chase to set up the offense. Chase would take the ball all the way to the net and instantly doubled Wheeling's lead to 2-0. Despite being down early, Frostburg State would find their groove scoring four unanswered goals over the final 11 minutes of the quarter to take a 4-2 lead.
As the second quarter began, Frostburg State continued to add on, pushing their lead to as much as 6-2 with 8:54 to go before the half. After a timeout by Head Coach Gage Bradshaw, the offense got going sending two shots towards goal. It would be the third that found the back of the net as Chase connected with Taylor for his second goal of the day to make it a 6-3 game. With 3:11 to play in the half, Frostburg State would add to their lead before Wheeling would strike to end the half. Bradshaw would once again called a timeout with 10.6 seconds showing on the clock as Wheeling would run one final play. It was Chase who started and finished the play taking the ball to the net with 2.5 seconds remaining in the half. That brought the game to its halftime score of 7-4 with Wheeling remaining in striking distance.
As the Cardinals battled back in the third quarter, it was their defense that lead the way. Hall would make eight of his 19 saves in the quarter and was able to hold the Bobcats off the board throughout. The guys in front of them were working hard as well forcing six Frostburg State turnovers in the quarter. That defense would help set up the offense and with 11:55 to go in the quarter The Comeback began. Dakota Strong would bring the ball around the net and found Trenton Rogerson to cut the Frostburg State lead to 7-5. There would be a 9-minute scoreless drought between the two teams before Wheeling got going again with 2:41 to go in the quarter. Lavern would get the ball after a successful clear and took it to the net for his first goal of the day making it a 7-6 game.
It would be more late quarter scoring for the Cardinals that tied the game with 1:12 showing on the third quarter clock. For the second time in the quarter, Strong would set the offense bringing the ball into the offensive zone. This time he was able to dish off to Taylor who scored his third goal of the day tying things at 7-7. That would remain the score at the end of the quarter and Wheeling would look to overtake Frostburg State for the first time since their two goal lead. The Cardinal offense would battle, taking four shots in the quarter and putting two of them on goal, but they were held scoreless over the final 15 minutes. The defense would add five saves and four caused turnovers over the final 15 minutes, but two Frostburg State goals would bring the game to its final score at 9-7.
The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Tuesday, Match 11th, when they host Lake Erie at 4 PM.
