The Wilmington College men's lacrosse team dominated the middle periods as they routed Franciscan Saturday, 23-8, in non-conference action at Wilmington Stadium.
"Our guys were having fun today," said Wilmington head coach Domenic Marzano. "From on the field to the sidelines to the stands, it was a good atmosphere. The fans were getting into it which only made us play harder. We really wanted to play a consistent four quarters and we did that today. I was happy with the effort; we definitely sharpened up some of our errors from last time out."
Wilmington took control of the game by scoring eight of nine second-period goals, including a pair of short-handed tallies. Five different players found the back of the net and six of the eight goals were unassisted in the pivotal second period.
In the game-changing middle periods, the Fightin' Quakers outscored Franciscan, 15-3.
"Everybody is stepping up," said Marzano. "We have found a great blend of styles with our midfield and attack. They are starting to trust each other. We still got some work to do but I see improvement daily. They are all starting to work together and make plays for each other. The attack and midfield are paying attention to each other's strengths and tendencies. They are starting to be creative with the offense. They made the extra pass today, played very unselfish."
The Fightin' Quakers rounded out their scoring as Ethan Zimpfer (Botkins, OH/Botkins) and Chandler Dawson (Wooster, OH/Wooster) tallied their first career goals.
Freshman Jhordan Lang (Sunbury, OH/Big Walnut) finished with a career-high six goals, while sophomore Reid Delaney (Wooster, OH/Wooster) added four goals and an assist. Freshman Devon Maki (Pickerington, OH/Central) continues his torrid goal output with another four-goal performance with two assists.
Junior Jalen Jackson (Hilliard, OH/Bradley) scored three goals with two assists, while junior Evan Osborne (Lebanon, OH/Middletown) and junior Alexander Gossard (Galloway, OH/Hilliard Bradley) recorded two goals and two assists each.
Sophomore Paul Koerbel (Maineville, OH/Kings) earned the win (4-2), making seven saves on 11 shots.
Wilmington (4-2) stays home to host Defiance 7 p.m. Wednesday at Williams Stadium.
