Greensburg, PA. – On Wednesday afternoon, the 2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Semifinals took the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team to Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The Cardinals would meet the #1 seeded Seton Hill Griffins at Dick's Sporting Goods Field and after an early battle, the Griffins just kept scoring. In the end, the Cardinals would bow out of the GMAC Tournament, falling to Seton Hill 29-4 to wrap up their season.
The Griffins needed just two minutes to get on the board and once they did it was hard to stop. However, the Cardinals would keep things close thanks to senior Dylan Lavern. He was the Cardinal's lone multi-goal scorer on the day and he would score both of those goals in the first quarter. After Seton Hill had built a 3-0 advantage, a save from Austin Hall would get things started. After a successful clear, Brenner Chase set the offense and found Lavern for his first goal of the day. He would give the Cardinals momentum by the end of the quarter, getting the ball back with 1:57 to go. This time, it was Jack Rowe who shoveled the pass and Lavern took care of the rest, making it a 6-2 game. Lavern would be the team's shot leader, taking six and putting five on net as he rounded out a big day for the team.
Despite the final score, it was a big day for the Cardinals defense, led by Austin Hall in net. Hall would face 48 shots during the day, and saved 19 of them in the effort. He was able to keep things close early, making five saves in the first quarter to keep the Griffins at eight goals. As the game went on, Hall continued to stand strong in net, making four or more saves in three of the four quarters. His biggest effort would come in the final quarter when he made seven saves on 12 shots faced as he kept the Griffins under the thirty goal mark. It rounded out a season that saw the senior goalkeeper make 17 or more saves in 12 of the team's 15 games this season and set a new career high with 187 saves this season. He wraps up a strong Cardinal career in net helping his team get to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
By the fourth quarter, Seton Hill's lead blew up to 28-2 with 8:31 to play before the offense got a successful clear to get things going. The offense would set up behind the net with Ryder McCall, and it was McCall who would make the move towards net. He snuck around The right corner of the net and got the ball past the keeper for his first of the day. It was the only shot that McCall would take on the day, and he made it count As he was able to put it in the back of the net. The final Cardinal goal would come with 2:44 Left on the clock as Jack Rowe had the ball behind the net this time. The junior would also attack the right side and also found the back of the net to get Wheeling to the four-goal mark. It would Be one of four shots taken by Rowe On the day with all four finding the back of the net.
The junior would also play a big role on the defensive side, finishing with two cause turnovers on the day. Both would disrupt Seton Hill clear attempts and get the Cardinals the ball back on their end. The other Cardinal to finish with two caused turnovers was senior Adam Zdanowicz, who forced the two turnovers while also taking 17 face-offs on the day. Going against one of the top face-off groups in the country, he was able to get two face-off wins, tying with teammate Dominico Cataldo In the effort. The First and third quarters we're the most successful for The Cardinal offense As they got over eight shots in each quarter. However, it would be the final quarter that was their most efficient as they put six of their eight shots on net.
Despite falling in the semifinal round, the team wraps up its best season since the 2018 campaign. It was their first winning season since that year, finishing 8-7, and also the first time they have made the semifinal round of the gmac tournament. Since that season. They improved their conference win total by two and received their highest seed in the GMAC tournament since that 2018 campaign. Despite losing nine seniors, a lot of the team returns next season and will look to make a similar push. The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse Program will look to build off of this season and continue being a contender in the GMAC for years to come.
The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team Now heads into the off-season as they look to retool and rebuild for next season.
