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NEWARK, Del. - - Trailing by as many as five goals early in the second quarter, the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team stormed back to win going away, earning the 17-8 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Georgian Court on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Lions (3-9, 0-2 CACC) came out of the gates and scored five first quarter goals, leading 5-1 after the first 15 minutes. Georgian Court scored the first goal of the second quarter as well, but then the Wildcats (6-3, 2-0 CACC) took over, scoring the final four goals of the second quarter and outscoring the Lions, 12-2, in the second half for the big victory.
The Wildcats went a perfect 24-for-24 on clear chances and forced the Lions into 25 total turnovers, hounding the Lions on their clear attempts as the visitors only went 18-for-25. The Wildcats outshot the Lions, 57-35, despite losing the face-off battle, 21-7.
Georgian Court came out and scored the first three goals of the game before Jake Copio put the Wildcats on the board with 2:58 left in the first. The Lions scored the final two goals of the quarter to lead 5-1. Four of the Wildcats' eight penalties came in the first quarter alone.
The Lions scored quickly in the second quarter, going up 6-1 with 14:32 to play. But then it was all Wilmington, as Logan Stinson started a 4-0 run with a man-advantage goal with 9:08 to play. Giovanni Marion closed the gap to 6-3 before Stinson added another man-advantage goal with 3:50 to play. Miles Crouse brought the Wildcats back to within 6-5 at the break with his first goal of the game with 2:54 left in the half.
Georgian Court remained a two-goal lead, 7-5, but Jake Copio scored back-to-back goals from the same spot to tie the game, 7-7, with 9:56 showing on the clock. The Lions were able to regain the lead, 8-7, with 8:54 to play in the quarter, but it would be their last goal of the game.
Jake Copio made it three straight marks to spark a 3-0 run to end the quarter Logan Stinson gave the Wildcats their first lead, 9-8, with 4:48 left in the quarter and then Jimmy Cava took on his defender by himself to make it 10-8 after three quarters.
Jake Copio was at it again for the Wildcats, scoring his fifth and final goal of the game to start the fourth. Giovanni Marino scored twice in the fourth quarter while Jimmy Cava, Miles Crouse, Keeshawn Bell and Logan Stinson all found the back of the net, running away with the quarter, 7-0, to win the game, 17-8.
Jason Roland's 17 saves today were his season high, ranking sixth most in a game in program history. The defense collected 16 caused turnovers on the day, led by John Greene's three. Fellow defensemen Connor Graser, Brendan Leonard, and Zach Pancake all had two caused turnovers.
Jake Copio finished with five goals and an assist while Logan Stinson had four goals and added two assists. Giovanni Marino added three goals and an assist while Jimmy Cava had two goals and two assists. Miles Crouse chipped in with two goals and an assist while Jacob Herman led with three assists.
The Wildcats remain at home for their next game, as they host Felician on Wednesday at the WU Athletics Complex. The opening face-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
