*Story by Andy Riesenberg
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's lacrosse team heads north to Cleveland on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. game at Don Shula Stadium on the campus of John Carroll University.
The Teams: Wilmington and John Carroll. Wilmington enters the weekend after losing to Otterbein on Wednesday in Columbus. John Carroll comes in on a six game win streak after just beating the overall top seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference, Baldwin Wallace, on Wednesday. The Fightin' Quakers increased their shooting percentage to 19% and their number of ground ball wins to 106, however stay idol with a 20% face-off percentage. John Carroll looks to improve its cause for the top spot after an impressive 10-6 win at home. The Blue Streak have a shot percentage of 38% scoring 167 goals on 438 attempts. They have gathered 332 ground balls so far and won over 50%of their face-off attempts, while committing 121 turnovers.
The Coaches: Jeff Arneson is in his fourth year leading the Wilmington men's lacrosse program. Prior to leading the Quakers to a 5-9 record two seasons ago, and a 4-0 start before the season was cancelled due to COVID19 protocol. Arneson, a Wilmington High School alumnus, spent six seasons as head coach at Thiel College (Pennsylvania). Joe Rautenstrauch leads the Blue Streaks in his fifth season. He has led them to three NCAA Tournament appearances, three OAC tournament wins and two OAC regular season titles.
The Players: Reed Beavers closes in on the top spot for saves, behind by just seven as they head into Saturday, and Austin Young now leads the team in goals, shooting at just over 18 percent. Skyler Blake is on total command for the Blue Steaks. He leads the team with 60 total points, 53 goals and only seven assists. The next closest goal scorer is Matt Berdysiak with 16.
Series History: This matchup will be the seventh time these two programs have clashed. John Carroll has claimed all victories so far. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the game will be available – visit the link above.
Up Next: Wilmington (0-7) will return home Saturday, April 17, to face the University of Mount Union.
