Press Release Written by Nathan Foltz
WATERBURY, Conn. - - A third-quarter surge gave the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team its third conference win of the year, defeating Post 10-7 at LaMoy Field on Saturday in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
Wilmington is now 5-3 on the year and 3-0 in CACC play. Post's record stands at 3-3 overall and 1-2 against conference opponents.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start, as they were unable to convert any of their eight first-quarter shots into goals. Andrew Dzubak was able to finally get the team on the board two and a half minutes into the second on a man advantage, taking a pass from Kyle Parker and driving it home. That was it for the first half, though, as they trailed 4-1 after the first 30 minutes of play.
Wilmington then flipped the script in the third quarter, scoring six unanswered goals in the period. Andrew Dzubak picked up another goal three minutes in before going back-to-back with Carter Earl in the ninth minute. Max Runcer scored next, then Dzubak struck again, and finally Kanell Ward wrapped up the quarter with an unassisted tally. The Wildcats scored another less than a minute into the fourth quarter on a Josh Weston goal that made it 8-4, but Post scored the next two to pull back within two. Weston and Earl each put one in the back of the net to make it 10-6 with five minutes left, and Post could only respond with one more goal on two shots before the game ended.
Wilmington's 20 shots on goal were their second-lowest total in a game this season, with only the 14 they took against #12 Molloy ranking lower. The defense held Post to 14 shots on goal of their own, which proved to be the difference in a game where the two teams performed statistically similarly.
Andrew Dzubak recorded his sixth hat trick of the season on his way to a team-leading four goals. Carter Earl and Josh Weston each had two as well, while five different Wildcats recorded the five assists sprinkled throughout the contest.
Wilmington dominated the faceoff game as well, with Connor Widmer going 10-13, Brian McGarvey 3-5, and Aidan Vicidomini 1-3. Widmer led the team in ground balls with six, while Earl had the most among non-faceoff men with five.
Daniel Flynn was solid in goal, making seven saves on 14 shots on goal.
Up next for the Wildcats is a trip to Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday, where they're tabbed to play in a neutral-site contest against Frostburg State. It'll be a rare evening game for Wilmington, with the opening faceoff set for 5:00 pm.