Check out a highlight reel pass and goal at the bottom of the page.
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - An eight-goal fourth quarter brought the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team back for a 13-9 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Georgian Court on Tuesday afternoon at the GCU Track & Field Complex.
With the program's first win against the Lions, the Wildcats (3-3, 3-1 CACC) are now in second place in the CACC standings with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Wildcats lost twice to the Lions in its inaugural season of 2018 sand twice again in 2019, , once in the regular season and once in the CACC Tournament semifinal, in each season. The teams did not play in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, scoring the lone three goals in the first quarter and then taking a 5-2 lead into the halftime break. But the Lions (7-3, 3-2 CACC) answered with a 5-0 third quarter, and led by as large as 8-6 early in the fourth quarter. Georgian Court took a 9-8 lead with 7:39 to play, but the Wildcats answered with the final five goals of the game to take the 13-9 victory.
The defense was once again at the forefront of the victory on Tuesday, as the scoring didn't get started until the 8:32 mark of the first quarter. In the first six and a half minutes, the Wildcats' defense produced two saves and two blocked shots. The Wildcats were able to get on the board first with a goal by Miles Crouse with a feed from Logan Stinson.
Jimmy Cava made it 2-0 with another mark with 5:33 to play in the first while Jake Copio was able to score in the late moments of the first quarter, giving the Wildcats the 3-0 lead going into the second.
The Wildcats' face-off success was a story line on Tuesday, as Colin Finn won the opening start of the second and Jimmy Cava scored to make it 4-0 with 14:02 left in to the second. The Wildcats won 16 of the 25 face-offs in the contest, after being near the bottom of the NCAA Division II ranks coming into the contest.
Georgian Court was finally able to get on the board with 9:53 to play in the second, scoring back-to-back goals to get to within 4-2 with 1:24 left before the half. But Tucker Plasse won the ensuing face-off and the Wildcats went on the attack. Logan Stinson found the back of the net with 53 seconds left on the clock, and the Wildcats went into the break leading 5-2.
Georgian Court was able to claw back in the third quarter, as their first three goals of the frame came within the opening five minutes, and then their final two goals came within the final minute of play. The Lions outscored the Wildcats, 5-0, in the third quarter, taking a 7-5 lead into the final frame.
It didn't take long for the Wildcats to snap the scoring streak in the fourth quarter, as Giovanni Marino beat Lion netminder Austin Geissel with a goal with 13:49 left in regulation. But the Lions answered right back with a face-off win and a goal 30 seconds later to regain an 8-6 lead.
John Greene picked up a ground ball and turned defense into offense as TJ Caton scored with 10:24 to play. Jake Copio then tied the game with his second of the day with 7:39 left on the clock.
Georgian Court won the ensuing face-off and scored a minute later, taking their last lead of the game, 9-8, with 7L39 to play.
It took four shots in the Wildcats' next offensive possession, but the fourth shot was the difference maker as Jimmy Cava tied the game, 9-9 with 6:10 to play. The Wildcats then won the ensuing faceoff, had a shot by Cole Bauer, and then the second shot by Copio found the back of the net with 5:07 to take the lead, 10-9. The Wildcats never gave up the lead again.
Logan Stinson took the next faceoff win and scored with 4:00 to play while another face-off gave the Wildcats another offensive possession. Jimmy Cava scored with 2:24 to play for the 12-9 lead before Giovanni Marino capped the scoring with a goal with 1:06 to play.
Jimmy Cava led the scoring with four goals on Tuesday while Jake Copio added a hat trick with three goals. Logan Stinson scored two goals with one assist while Giovanni Marino scored twice.
Defensively, Jaeden Henson scooped up six ground balls while John Greene and Jamie Colligan had one caused turnover each. Noah Given made eight saves for the win.