Wheeling, W. Va. - After a heavy focus on Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) play at the end of March, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team (5-5, 4-3) takes on one final non-conference test on Saturday at Bishop Schmitt Field. The Cardinals will take on Lincoln Memorial with opening face-off at 2 PM as they take the time to honor their seniors in their annual senior day game. Nine Cardinals will be honored for their time with the team, helping to build the program from the ground up starting with their freshman seasons back in 2022.
The Cardinals last took the field on Saturday, April 5th, when they earned a big GMAC home win against Tiffin. It was defense that reigned supreme early on, as the Cardinal's defenders were able to hold the Dragons off the board for the first 29 minutes of play. As the defense was holding their end of the bargain, the Cardinal offense went off, scoring six goals during that span. They went into the halftime break with a 6-1 advantage and the success continued throughout the second half. The Dragons would get on the board four times over the final 30 minutes and got as close as 10-4 by the start of the fourth quarter. However, Wheeling would score five straight goals over the final 11 minutes of play and went on to secure the 14-5 victory.
Leading the way for the Cardinals in the effort was Dylan Lavern, who led the way with a team-high seven points. He would lead the Cardinals with five goals on the day, while tying for the team lead with two assists in the effort. Lavern would get the scoring started at the 9:14 mark of the first quarter and scored three of those five goals in the first half of the game as he helped Wheeling build the early 6-0 lead. The seven-point effort was a season-high effort for the senior, and propelled him to the team's leading goal scorer with 24 goals on the season. He is also among the team's leaders on the offensive side, sitting third on the team with nine assists and 33 points on the season. Lavern has been one of several leaders on the offensive side of the ball for the Cardinals and looks to continue that success through the final three weeks of the season.
It was also a milestone day for Brenner Chase, who finished with two goals on the day and added to what has been a milestone season. Chase eclipsed the 105 career point mark in the effort, bringing his career total to 107 points over his four seasons in a Cardinal's uniform. He was efficient throughout the afternoon, putting three of his four shots on net as he completed the strong day. Rounding out the offensive success for the Cardinals was Jack Rowe, who finished with three goals and two assists to finish with five points. Rowe currently sits second on the team with 13 assists on the season while adding 16 goals to sit third on the team. It was Rowe's second hat trick effort of the season as he continues to be a strong option on the offensive side for the Cardinals.
With Saturday marking their final weekend home game of the season, Wheeling will be celebrating their group of nine seniors in a special pregame ceremony. Dakota Strong, Ty Taylor, Dylan Lavern, Adam Zdanowicz, Mitchell Park, Gabriel Hennin, Austin Hall, Owen Doyle, and Brenner Chase will be honored after being foundations of the program. When they joined the program back in 2022, Wheeling Men's Lacrosse was undergoing a complete rebuild and they took the program from a start-up to a powerhouse in the GMAC. They helped lead the Cardinals to the GMAC Tournament for the first time since the 2018 season last year and they look to continue making history this season. They enter play Saturday with their magic number to clinch a playoff spot sitting at 3, meaning any combination of three Cardinal GMAC wins or three Malone GMAC losses will earn the Cardinals their spot in the tournament.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Splitters will be meeting for the first time in program history when they meet at Bishop Schmitt Field on Saturday. The Splitters enter the game sitting at 3-9 overall and 1-7 in the Southern Atlantic Conference (SAC). They enter play having fallen to #9 ranked Wingate University 21-7 last Saturday and their are 1-4 in their last five games. However, four of those five games have come against opponents who are either ranked or received votes in the National standings. The Cardinals will look to knock down the Splitters and earn a senior day win.
The Details
Opening face-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 PM inside Bishop Schmitt Field with senior day festivities beginning at 1:30 PM. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
