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NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's lacrosse team had a ton of firsts for the program on Wednesday, defeating Chowan, 20-13, in nonconference action at the WU Athletics Complex.
It is the first time in the two years of existence that the team scored 20 goals in a game, and the first time that one student-athlete scored eight goals and had more than 10 points in a single game. It is also the first time the team recorded 30 points in a game, 10 assists in a game, and the most face-offs won in a game (29).
Senior Dylan McCleaft beat his own (and Chris Smith's) record of five goals with eight goals today, adding three assists for 11 total points. The previous most was seven points in a game, set by Chris Smith (twice) last season.
The Wildcats (4-1) got out to a fast start on Wednesday, scoring six goals in the opening quarter of play. Dylan McCleaft had three of the team's six goals, securing his third straight hat trick in the first quarter. Five of his 11 points also came in the first quarter as he dished out a pair of assists.
Chowan (1-6) scored three of the final five goals of the second half, including one with just seven seconds left in the quarter, to go into the halftime break with the score 10-5.
The Wildcats grabbed control in the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks, 7-2, in the quarter to take a 17-7 lead into the final frame. After the teams traded goals, the Wildcats scored six straight in the quarter, with five of the goals coming within a 7:11 span of game time. McCleaft scored his eighth and final goal of the game with 1:16 left, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 17-6.
Chowan made things interested in the fourth quarter, scoring the first two goals and four of the first five to close the gap to within 18-11 with 6:02 left to play. But the Wildcats settled things down with an Austin Wood goal before Chris Smith capped the scoring for the Wildcats with 1:22 left in regulation.
Smith also collected six points in the game, scoring four goals while adding two assists. Wood finished with three goals and two assists for five points while Matt Browne and Sean Sheehan added two goals each.
Anton Mackey led the charge in the face-off circle, giving the Wildcats possession after a goal on 26 of his 30 face-off attempts. He also scooped up a single game record 15 ground balls. The Wildcats went 29-for-36 in the game.
Noah Given made eight saves in nearly three quarters before giving way to Nick Race for the final 17 minutes.
The Wildcats remain at home for another contest, as they play SUNY Polytechnic on Friday at the WU Athletics Complex. The opening whistle is set for 4:00 p.m.
