Webber: #10 Men’s Lacrosse Takes Down #4 Aquinas in Top-10 Clash
WESTFIELD, Ill. (February 25, 2023) – In the second game of the NAIA Invitational, the Webber International University men’s lacrosse team took on No. 4 Aquinas College on Friday afternoon. The Warriors’ offense was on full display in a 19-10 route of the Saints in a top-10 clash.
The Warriors (4-0 overall) took the slight advantage in total number of shots, 41-35. But they were much quicker to loose balls which helped with possession as they outnumbered the Saints (0-1) in ground balls, 41-18.
The Saints netted the first goal of the match less than two minutes in. However, Cade McCarron connected with Blake Nelson roughly six minutes later, who put the Warriors on the board. Just over a minute later, Chase Jackson claimed a goal to earn the Warriors the lead. McCarron scored his first goal of the game after receiving a pass from Houston Finlayson with just 23 seconds left in the first quarter, giving Webber a 3-1 advantage.
The Warriors kicked off the second quarter scoring four goals in a row through Nick Sheaffer, Christian Tapia, Jackson, and Connor Herring respectively. The Saints then scored their lone goal of the second quarter before Jeremiah Loo found the back of the net with 1:21 left until the break. Jackson added yet another goal under his name just 15 seconds later. Webber then fired off three goals within the final 11 seconds of the half, first from Sheaffer followed by Tapia and Jackson.
Coming out of the half, the Saints started with much higher energy as they netted two goals to begin the third quarter. The Warriors and Saints claimed one goal each before Jackson scored his fifth goal of the game. Greyson Davidson and Loo finished off the third quarter with a goal each, increasing the lead to double digits at 16-6. In the final quarter of the match, the Warriors scored three-straight goals before the Saints would score their final four goals of the game, making for a more respectable scoreline.
Jackson led the Warriors offense with five goals and three assists for a total of eight points. Loo and Sheaffer followed close behind with three each while Tapia added two. Herring and McCarron both added two assists each as well. Five Warriors in total tallied three points including Herring, McCarron, Tapia, Loo, and Sheaffer.
Hunter Scott fueled the Warrior-defense going 20-of-29 on face offs and picking up a team-high 12 ground balls. Raja Brooks led the team in caused turnovers with two. Alex Cordero spent the majority of the game in the cage with 55 minutes, making eight saves along the way. Ryan Prylinsky made two saves two saves in two and a half minutes played while Riley Graves tallied one save as well.
