LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - The Wilmington University men's lacrosse team grabbed a stranglehold on the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference on Saturday, defeating the only other undefeated team Georgian Court, 16-10, at the GCU Track and Field Complex.
It is the 17th consecutive CACC regular season victory for the Wildcats, starting with a win over Dominican on April 18, 2023.
On Saturday, it was a 5-0 stretch that pushed the Wildcats' lead out to 9-3 in the third quarter. Georgian Court tried getting back into the contest with a. 4-0 run of their own, but the Wildcats slammed the door shut with the final two goals of the third quarter for the 11-7 lead. They also scored four of the final five goals of the game to close out the Lios, 16-10.
The teams traded the first five goals of the game, all in the first quarter. Andrew Dzubak started the scoring and then Josh Lovely gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Gavin Paraschak scored with six seconds left in the first quarter to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
The teams traded goals in the second quarter again, but once again it was the Wildcats coming out on top. Josh Weston scored to make it 4-2 and the Josh Lovely slammed a one-timer in front from Andrew Dzubak for the 5-2 lead with 1:15 left before the half.
Josh Lovely then started the third quarter with his second goal, sparking a 4-0 run out of the halftime break. Layton Avant, Dzubak, and Weston all scored in the run, giving the Wildcats a 9-3 lead with 11:45 to play in the third.
But the Lions answered right back, going on a 4-0 run to close the gap to within 9-7 with 3:43 to play in the quarter. But the Wildcats' stemmed the tide, as Josh Lovely scored his third of the game with 1:27 to play to stop the streaking Lions. Carter Earl added another with six seconds left in the third quarter, giving the Wildcats an 11-7 lead going into the fourth frame.
Georgian Court scored two of the opening three goals in the fourth, but then Andrew Dzubak scored back-to-back goals to reopen a 14-9 lead. Josh Weston and Gavin Paraschak scored the final goals of the game as well, settling the scoring, 16-10.
Andrew Dzubak led the Wildcats with four goals and four assists while Josh Lovely added four goals and two assists. Josh Weston scored three goals while Gavin Paraschak and Carter Earl added two goals each. Connor Widmer kept getting the ball back for the Wildcats, going 23-for-28 on faceoffs and added 10 ground balls. Quin Tracy had two caused turnovers and four ground balls while Tyler Quinn chipped in with six ground balls. Daniel Flynn made seven saves for the victory.
The Wildcats have another tough CACC matchup on Wednesday night, heading to Plymouth Whitemarsh to take on Chestnut Hill under the lights. The opening faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Victory Field.