NEWARK, Del. - - A 4-1 run at the end of the second quarter helped the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team distance itself from Bridgeport in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener, 23-11, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Bridgeport (3-4, 0-1 CACC) didn't score back-to-back goals until late in the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats (2-2, 1-0 CACC) had an answer for every Bridgeport attempt at a run.
Bridgeport scored the game's first goal and again tied it, 2-2, midway through the first quarter. The Wildcats closed the first quarter on a 3-0 run, getting goals from Mile Crouse, Jon Gaglione, and Josh Weston to take a 5-2 lead.
The second quarter was the Josh Weston show, as he scored four of the Wildcats' six goals in the quarter. Weston traded goals with the Purple Knight three different times, keeping the Wildcats in front, 8-5. His third goal of the quarter started a 4-1 run for the Wildcats, as Weston scored with 3:26 to play to make it 10-6 before Carter Earl scored the final goal of the half to put the Wildcats ahead, 11-6, at the halftime break.
Bridgeport opened the third quarter with a goal, but then the Wildcats rattled off the final six goals of the quarter, extending the lead out to 17-7.
The Wildcats scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to make it an 8-0 run overall, as Logan Stinson put the home team up 19-7 with 13:29 to play in the game. Gavin Paraschak and Joshua Leavery got in on the scoring act late in the quarter, settling the score on 23-11 in the CACC opener.
Miles Crouse led the Wildcats with nine points, scoring five goals and adding four assists. Logan Stinson finished with four goals and three assists while Jacob Herman scored a goal and added five assists. Josh Weston finished with six goals overall TJ Caton added two goals and an assist while leading the team with nine ground balls. Daniel Flynn made seven saves for the win. The Wildcats assisted on 16 of their 23 goals.
The Wildcats are back on the road for three consecutive games, starting with a night game on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. They will play Frostburg State on Wednesday at Homewood Field starting at 7:30 p.m.
