NEWARK, Del. - - The 13th ranked Pace Setters blitzed the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team out of the gates in an 18-8 nonconference victory on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Pace (2-0) came out of the gates and put six on the scoreboard int eh first quarter and then led 11-0 at the halftime break. Wilmington (0-3) scored five times in the third quarter, but Pace retaliated with the final two goals of the quarter to thwart any kind of comeback thoughts by the home team.
The Wildcats produced 10 turnovers in the first quarter, with five of them coming on clear opportunities. The Wildcats went 3-for-8 on clears in the opening 15 minutes. The Setters outshot the Wildcats, 20-5, in the quarter, leading 6-0 after the first.
It was tough for the Wildcats to get moving offensively in the second quarter as well, as they only took two shots as compared to the Setters' 18. Pace won 4-of-6 face-offs in the quarter and 13-5 in ground balls, staying in the offensive zone. They went into the halftime break leading 11-0.
Logan Stinson put the Wildcats on the board in the third quarter, scoring back-to-back goals in the first two and half minutes. But that would be all the momentum the Wildcats would get, as they couldn't find back-to-back goals again in the quarter. The teams traded goals until it was 14-5 as Matt Kracyla scored for the Wildcats with 4:23 to play. But Pace had the final say of the quarter, scoring back-to-back goals to thwart any thoughts of a comeback and lead, 16-5, going into the fourth.
TJ Caton scored in the fourth and then Logan Stinson and TJ Caton scored back-to-back goals to close out the contest, 18-8.
Pace ended up turning the ball over more than the Wildcats, 22-21, but they won in the face-off circle, 18-10, and in shots, 56-33.
Logan Stinson led the Wildcats with three goals while TJ Caton had two goal, two assists, and seven ground balls. Jacob Herman finished with a goal and two assists while Josh Lovely got in the box score with a goal and an assist. Layton Avant added two assists while Matt Kracyla tacked on a goal as well. Lou Savino went 7-for-18 in the face-off circle while Jack Cruz made nine saves in goal.
The Wildcats have another tough matchup next weekend as they travel to a nationally ranked top five program on Long Island in Mercy College. The opening face-off on Saturday is set for 1:00 p.m.
