WATERBURY, Conn. - - For the fifth Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament in a row, the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team has earned a spot in the semifinals, this time as the No. 3 seed by finishing the regular season on a four-game winning streak.
The 2023 tournament will be hosted by Post University at LaMoy Field in Waterbury, Connecticut. The No. 3 Wildcats will face the No. 2 Chestnut Hill Griffins on Friday, May 5 in the second semifinal game, starting at 3:00 p.m. The Wildcats and Griffins have faced off in the last two CACC Tournament Championships games.
Ways to Follow:
- Live stats vs. Chestnut Hill: https://caccathletics.org/sports/mlax/2022-23/boxscores/20230505_cmz5.xml
- Live stream: https://caccnetwork.com/
- CACC Tournament Central: https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/2022-23/MLAX
Admission to LaMoy Field:
- Adults- $10
- Seniors/Children/Students w/ School ID- $5
- Children under 3 years of age admitted for free
- Purchase Tickets online
Scouting the No. 3 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The Wildcats are led by CACC Player of the Year TJ Caton and Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bruhn. Caton has done a lot of everything for the Wildcats this year, ranking fifth in the CACC with 34 goals, ninth in points with 49, seventh in ground balls with 57, and 15th in caused turnovers with 12. He is third on the team with 49 points, playing both ends of the field while leading the team with his 57 ground balls. Bruhn leads the CACC with 24 caused turnovers on the year and is the leading long pole on the CACC list of ground balls, ranking eight overall with 48 scoops.
Not stopping there, the Wildcats also have the CACC leading scorer in Logan Stinson with 47 goals, ranking fourth in all of NCAA Division II in scoring 3.92 goals per game. They also boast the top assist man in NCAA Division II, as Jacob Herman leads the country in dishing out 3.58 helpers per game. Nick Bruhn ranks 13th in all of NCAA DII in averaging 2.00 caused turnovers per contest and Charlie Plasse is 27th with a .552 winning percentage in the face-off circle.
Logan Stinson (A), TJ Caton (M), Jaedan Henson (D), and Nick Bruhn (LSDM) were all named First Team All-CACC. The Wildcats also have 2022 CACC Player of the Year Giovanni Marino (A) who can light up the net, Jacob Herman (M), and Matt Kracyla (SSDM) who earned Second Team All-CACC.
As a team the Wildcats lead the CACC in scoring 15.42 goals per game, third overall with a 62.4 shots on goal percentage, second overall with 127 caused turnovers, fourth overall with a .455 win percentage on face-offs, third overall with a .820 clears percentage, and fourth overall with a 14.18 goals against average.
Wildcats First Matchup Against Chestnut Hill:
The Wildcats got off to a slow start in the night game at Victory Field on April 12, falling behind 6-1 after the first quarter, and found themselves down 10-2 at the halftime break. The Wildcats fought back with a 4-3 advantage in the third quarter, and then had it as close as 13-8 with 6:52 to play in the fourth and 14-10 with 4:18 left. The Griffins held on for the 15-10 victory.
The Griffins were led by five goals from Zach Jastrzebski and four goals and an assist from Noah Hammon. The CACC Goalkeeper of the Year Austin Jones made 14 saves in the win. The Wildcats were led by Jacob Herman who had two goals and three assists while Josh Lovely, TJ Caton, and Logan Stinson all had two goals as well.
Scouting the Griffins:
Chestnut Hill placed four players on the All-CACC First Team and had three more on the Second Team. The Griffins' offense is led by Noah Hammon's 31 goals and 41 points, ranking eighth in the CACC in goals. Sam Slater is second on the team with 38 points, scoring 22 goals while adding 16 assists.
The Griffins shine at two spots, ranking No. 1 in all of NCAA Division II in opponents' clear percentage (.679) and scoring defense (6.85). They boast the best goalie according to save percentage in the country in Austin Jones's .631 save percentage, who is also second in the country with a 7.00 goals against average. Zach Schultz leads the CACC and is seventh in the country with a .640 win percentage in the face-off circle.
The 10 goals the Wildcats put up on the Griffins in the regular season matchup is only one of three games the Griffins allowed double digit goals all season.
Wilmington All-Time in the CACC Tournament:
2018 - #1 Georgian Court def. #4 Wilmington, 17-4
2019 - #2 Georgian Court def. #3 Wilmington, 15-6
2020 – DNP (COVID-19)
2021 - #2 Wilmington def. #3 Georgian Court, 12-11; #1 Chestnut Hill def. #2 Wilmington, 17-9
2022 - #1 Wilmington def. #4 Dominican, 24-8; #2 Chestnut Hill def. #1 Wilmington, 13-12
Total: 2-4
Wildcats vs. 2023 CACC Tournament Participants:
1. Georgian Court University Lions (11-5, 7-0 CACC - @ L 15-13 (3-5 all-time, 1-2 CACC Tourn.)
2. Chestnut Hill College Griffins (9-4, 5-2 CACC) – @ L 15-10 (1-6 all-time, 0-2 CACC Tourn.)
3. Wilmington University Wildcats (6-6, 5-2 CACC)
4. Post University Eagles (10-5, 5-2 CACC) – vs. W 24-14 (4-1 all-time)
2023 CACC Tournament Schedule:
All Games Played at LaMoy Field at Post University in Waterbury, Conn.
Friday, May 5 – Semifinals:
#1 Georgian Court vs. #4 Post – 12:00 p.m.
#2 Chestnut Hill vs. #3 Wilmington – 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 – Championship:
Semifinal Winner 1 vs. Semifinal Winner 2 – 11:00 a.m.