LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - The inaugural season of the Wilmington University men's lacrosse came to a close in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Semifinals on Friday, falling to top seed and host Georgian Court, 17-4, at the GCU Turf Field.
The loss wraps up the first season in program history, with the Wildcats finishing 4-9 overall, earning the fourth seed in the CACC Tournament. The Wildcats went 2-3 in CACC play and placed five players on the All-CACC teams in its first season.
The second quarter is where the Lions (10-6) separated themselves, winning the quarter, 6-2, to take an 8-3 lead into the halftime break.
After the Lions scored the first two goals of the game, Chris Smith put the Wildcats on the board in the first quarter, scoring with 2:39 to play. The quarter ended with the Lions leading 2-1.
But Georgian Court scored the first three goals of the second quarter to extend their lead to 5-1 with 13:11 showing on the clock. John Novak broke up the Lions' run with an unassisted goal, but the Lions struck on back-to-back goals to extend the lead out to 7-2. James Colligan scored for the Wildcats but the Lions ended the half with a goal for the 8-3 lead.
The Wildcats were shutout in the third quarter, 4-0, falling behind 12-3 going into the fourth. The Lions scored the opening five goals of the fourth quarter as well, extending their run to 10-0 spanning 1:16 left in the second quarter. Dylan McCleaft broke the run with a goal with 1:16 left for the Wildcats, capping the scoring in the game, 17-4.
The Wildcats were out shot, 47-24, in the game and turned the ball over 25 times to the Lions' 18. The Lions were able to win more face-offs as well, 17-7, putting the Wildcats on defense for extended periods of time.
John Novak scored a goal and added an assist to lead the team with two points. He also finished in a tie for the team lead with seven ground balls. Josh Burley scooped up seven ground balls as well while Michael Adams and Chris Smith added five ground balls each. Noah Given made 12 saves in goal for the Wildcats.
Wilmington loses one senior to graduation as Michael Adams played his final game. He was named a Second Team All-CACC defender during the CACC Banquet Thursday night.