NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's lacrosse team secured a second place finish in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference standings with a 17-5 victory over Caldwell on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats won their third game in a row and will receive a first round bye in the CACC Tournament and will now play in the CACC Tournament Semifinals for the third year in a row (2018, 2019, 2021). The program started in 2028 and there was no postseason in 2020.
They won the shot battle, 50-26, and won 15-of-26 faceoffs, including Tucker Plasse who went 14-for-19 in the circle.
It was the second quarter that the Wildcats separated themselves from the Cougars (5-5, 3-3 CACC), as they scored six unanswered goals to take a 10-2 lead into the halftime break.
After Caldwell scored to close the gap to 4-2, Logan Stinson started the 6-0 run with a goal from Miles Crouse with 8:36 left in the half. After a penalty by the Cougars, Jacob Herman scored on the man-advantage to lead 6-2 and then Jake Copio went behind his back off a feed from Logan Stinson to go up 7-2 with 7:06 to play in the second quarter.
Jaren Wagenhoffer ripped the back of the net to extend the run and then Tucker Plasse won the ensuing faceoff and Cole Bauer scored less than a minute later to give the Wildcats a 9-2 lead with 4:25 to play. Miles Crouse sent the Wildcats into the break with a 10-2 lead, scoring a goal with 2:27 left in the quarter. Noah Given made a save as the seconds wound down before the halftime horn.
The teams traded goals to start the third, and then the Wildcats rattled off the next four goals of the third, taking a 15-3 lead after the third quarter. Cole Bauer, Logan Stinson, Giovanni Marino, and Jared Wagenhoffer all found the back of the net in the quarter, giving the Wildcats the commanding lead, 15-3.
The teams traded goals in the fourth, but it was more than enough for the Wildcats to win going away, 17-5.
Logan Stinson led the way with four goals and added three assists for a team leading seven points. Giovanni Marino scored a hat trick, adding two assists for five points. Cole Bauer, Jared Wagenhoffer, Jacob Herman, and TJ Caton all tallied two goals in the win.
Tucker Plasse went 14-for-19 in the circle and led the team with eight ground balls in the win. Jaeden Henson led the defense with two caused turnovers while Hunter Privette had one caused turnover and two ground balls. Noah Given made six saves in the win, adding four ground balls as well.
Continue to visit the website, athletics.wilmu.edu, to follow the Wildcats postseason news and alerts. The CACC Tournament Semifinals are expected to be Thursday, May 6, which would be at the WU Athletics Complex as the Wildcats will be the higher seed. They are expected to play the winner of Georgian Court and Post.
