NEWARK, Del. - - A goal heavy second quarter put the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team in a deep hole on Saturday as Chestnut Hill spoiled Senior Day at the WU Athletics Complex with a 16-6 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference decision to close out the 2018 regular season.
With the loss, the Wildcats (4-8, 2-3 CACC) earn the fourth seed for the CACC Tournament next week and will square off against CACC Regular Season Champions Georgian Court in Lakewood, New Jersey in the semifinals.
The Wildcats scored the game's opening goal, but the Griffins (6-9, 3-2 CACC) responded with four straight to lead 4-1 with 5:18 left in the quarter. Dylan McCleaft closed out the first quarter with a goal, but the Wildcats trailed 4-2 after one.
The Griffins grabbed the momentum and ran with it in the second quarter, scoring goals 17 second apart to take a 6-2 lead. The Griffins run continued as they scored the quarter's first seven goals, taking an 11-2 lead with 2:42 left before the half. John Novak and McCleaft scored back-to-back goals but Chestnut Hill closed the half with a goal in the final 30 seconds, taking a 12-4 lead into the halftime break.
Chestnut Hill scored the lone goal of the third quarter before opening the fourth quarter with the first two goals, capping another 4-0 run spanning 22:36 of game time. Cory Melvin broke the streak with his first goal of the game but the Wildcats could only get one more goal in the match with 12 seconds left, coming to a 16-6 loss.
The Wildcats were out-shot, 58-18, in the match, thanks in large part to a 21-5 Griffin advantage on face-offs.
McCleaft scored twice for the Wildcats while Melvin and Smith added a goal and an assist each. Kyle Leary and John Novak closed the Wilmington book with one goal each. Noah Given made 22 saves in the losing effort.
Continue to visit athletics.wilmu.edu for more information on the CACC Tournament starting next Friday, April 27 at Georgian Court University.
