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NEWARK, Del. - - A six-goal second quarter carried the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team to a 12-5 victory over Davis & Elkins on Wednesday at the WU Athletics Complex.
With the game tied 2-2 after the first quarter, and the Wildcats (3-1) down 3-2, early in the second quarter, the Wildcats rattled off six straight goals to end the second quarter and take an 8-3 lead into the halftime break.
Tied 2-2 after the first quarter, the Senators (0-3) scored on a man-down advantage in the early portion of the second quarter. But the Wildcats answered by going on a six-goal run to end the second quarter, extending that run to seven straight goals in taking a 9-3 lead early in the third quarter.
Trailing 3-2, the Wildcats' Sean Sheehan scored a goal on the man advantage to tie the game, then Chris Smith answered with an unassisted goal to give the Wildcats the lead for good, 4-3, with 12:38 to play in the second quarter. Dylan McCleaft kept the run going with a goal before Jake Walsh made it 6-3 with an unassisted goal with 6:41 showing on the first half clock.
Dylan McCleaft scored another unassisted goal before Chris Smith capped the second quarter run with another unassisted goal with 1:25 left to give the Wildcats an 8-3 lead at the halftime break.
Out of halftime, Anton Mackey scored his first goal of the year just 1:01 into the quarter, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 9-3, with 13:59 showing on the clock.
Ralph Ruggiero kept the Wildcats' lead at 10-4 with the first goal of the fourth quarter, before the Wildcats picked up insurance goals late in the game from TJ Maiura and McCleaft to give the final scored, 12-5.
McCleaft led the Wildcats with four goals and two assists while adding four ground balls. Chris Smith finished with two goals and two assists while Jake Walsh added two goals and an assist.
Zach Pancake led the team with three caused turnovers while McCleaft and Noah Brock led the team with four ground balls each. Noah Given made eight save in the victory for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats continue their four-game home stretch with a game against Chowan next Wednesday. The face-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.
