The Wilmington men’s lacrosse team extends their winning streak to four games, after defeating The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute Wildcats 9-6 on Friday at the WU Athletics Complex.
Senior attacker Dylan McCleaft and senior midfielder Chris Smith both earned hat tricks in the game with scoring three goals each.
Along with three goals, McCleaft had three points, seven shots, four shots on the goal, three ground balls and four turnovers.
Along with three goals, Smith had five points, two assists, 11 shots, five shots at the goal and four ground balls.
Two other Wildcats scored a goal and they were junior midfielder Jake Walsh (1) and Senior attacker Sean Sheehan (2).
Ten Wilmington players tallied multiple ground balls in the win and they were senior defender Kyle Leary (2), sophomore goal keeper Noah Given (3), sophomore attacker Austin Wood (3), Smith (4), freshman midfielder Matt Browne (2),freshman midfielder Anton Mackey (4), sophomore defender Jake Mollohan (3), senior midfielder Chris Arocho (2), senior defender Jon Howell (5) and McCleaft (3).
Three players caused multiple turnovers in the game and they were Leary (3), Howell (4) and freshman defender Noah Brock (2).
Wilmington’s sophomore goal keeper Noah Given he had tough day at the office as he allowed six goals, 17 shots, had 11 saves and earned in the win in 60:00 minutes of play.
Wilmington Scores Four Goals To Get First Period Lead
It did not take long for the scoring to start in this game as SUNY Poly’s Edward Rosaschi scored a goal at the 14:32 mark in the first period which gave his team a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Wilmington would answer with a goal of their own when Sean Sheehan scored a goal in the man-up situation which tied the game up at one. Chris Smith assisted Sheehan on the goal.
At the 8:12 minute mark, SUNY Poly’s Chase LaCava would score a goal to give his team a 2-1 lead.
Wilmington’s next score came from Sheehan who would score his second goal of the game which tied the game up at two with 6:28 left in the period.
WilmU’s next scoring drive started with Jake Walsh attempting a shot at the goal which missed wide of the net. It was followed up with Walsh scoring a goal which was assisted by Austin Wood to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
Wilmington scored their third straight goal when Chris Smith scored a goal at the 3:21 minute mark to increase his team’s lead to 4-2.
SUNY Poly Narrows Wilmington’s Lead With Scoring Two Goals In Third Period
After no scoring from either team in the second period, it would be a different story in the third with three combined goals were scored from the two teams.
At the 7:47 minute mark in the second period, SUNY Poly’s Edward Rosaschi scored his second goal of the game when he was assisted by Jake Elliot to decrease WilmU’s lead to 4-3.
About two minutes later, SUNY Poly scored again when Daniel Rivie was assisted on a goal by Shane Wyman to tie the game up at four.
At the 2:24 minute mark, Wilmington’s Dylan McCleaft would score a goal in the man up situation which gave his team a 5-4 lead.
Wilmington Scores Four Goals in Fourth Period To Seal Win
The fourth period started with SUNY Poly’s Daniel Rivie scoring his second goal of the game which happened in a man up situation. Charles Rosaschi assisted Rivie on the goal which tied the game up at five.
At the 7:53 minute mark, Dylan McCleaft would score his second goal of the game to give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead.
SUNY Poly would answer back with a goal of their own when Rhett Stauffer scored a goal at the 5:45 minute mark to tie the game up at six. This would be the last goal for SUNY Poly of the game.
Less then a minute later, Wilmington answered right back with a score from Chris Smith who scored his second goal of the game to give the Wildcats a 7-6 lead. Smith’s goal was assisted by Sean Sheehan.
Two minutes later, McCleaft would score his third goal of the game which gave the Wildcats a 8-6 lead with 2:50 left in the game.
Wilmington’s next scoring drive started with Chris Smith picking up the ground ball and was followed up by Smith scoring his third goal of the game which was in the man up situation. Smith’s goal sealed the Wildcats win with a score of 9-6.
Wildcats head on the road to take on Barton on March 26th at 3:00pm ET.
Team Stats:
Saves: WU 11& SUNY 13
Turnovers: WU 20 &SUNY29
Face Offs Won: WU 8 -19 & SUNY 11 -19
Shots:WU 52&SUNY28
Ground Balls:WU 33 &SUNY 36
Clears: WU 21 -24& SUNY 22 -30
Man Up: WU3 -6 & SUNY1 -2
FO Violations: WU 0 &SUNY 1
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