Press Release Written by Sports Information Graduate Intern Mary Kate Rumbaugh
NEWARK, Del. – With his goal in the 31st minute of play, red shirt junior Lorne Bickley broke the single season record of goals for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference with his 23rd of the season, helping the Wilmington University men's soccer team to a 3-0 win over cross town rival Goldey-Beacom for Senior Day on Wednesday afternoon at the Complex.
Bickley's goal surpassed Dominican's Kyle Clancy, who scored 22 in the 2002 season.
With the win, the Wildcats captured its second straight CACC Regular Season Championship and fourth overall since 2009. They will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CACC Tournament and will host a playoff game on November 11.
The Wildcats (15-1-1, 9-1-1 CACC) did not waste any time as they earned a corner kick within the fourth minute of play, allowing Joe Bell to connect off of Fredrik Bentdal's kick on a header by the near post to give Wilmington an early 1-0 lead over the Lightning (11-6, 8-3 CACC).
WilmU maintained possession for most of the first half, trying to connect off five shots and six corners by the 25-minute mark. They would not connect until after their seventh corner of the half however, as Lorne Bickley buried a rebound off of Bell's blocked header for his 23rd of the season to give the Wildcats a two goal lead into the half.
Goldey-Beacom looked like a different team to start out the second half, now putting the pressure on the Wildcats' defense. The Lightning got their first shot off of the contest in the 59th minute, but Gabriel Prgomet made the save in goal to keep the Lightning off the board.
Looking for an insurance goal, Abdul Mansaray went near post from the right side of the box in the 67th minute to give the Wildcats the 3-0 lead to take some of the pressure away. Goldey-Beacom would have three more chances on goal, but the Wildcats defense held the Lightning off for their seventh shutout of the year.
Joe Bell netted his seventh goal of the season, as Fredrik Bentdal dished out his ninth assist of the season. Abdul Mansaray recorded his 13th goal of the season.
The Wildcats will have their final regular season game on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Concordia for a 2:30 p.m. matchup.
