EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes men's lacrosse were bested by Landmark Conference opponent Goucher College 10-5 in their Senior Day game Saturday afternoon at Schmidt Stadium.
 
The Colonels fell to 4-7 on the season and 1-3 in conference play. Goucher improved 7-5 overall while earning their first Landmark win of the season to move to 1-3.
 
Goucher got on the board first with a goal at 14:21 before Anthony DelDuca (Westchester, NY/Westlake) fired a shot home for his eighth goal of the season. Dillon Kadis (McSherrystown, PA/Delone Catholic) assisted on the 1-1 goal at 10:49. Colonel goaltender Joseph Marino (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) made his first save of the afternoon roughly six minutes into the first quarter, allowing Wilkes to quickly transition down the field. Shortly thereafter, Matthew Warns (Cutchogue, NY/Mattituck) broke the tie to give the Blue and Gold a 2-1 lead at 8:54 with J'Vier Johnson (Easton, PA/Easton Area) picking up a helper on the play. Wilkes was assessed a pair of pushing penalties at 5:51, however the Gophers were unable to capitalize on the two-man advantage. Goucher was able to knot the score back up at 2-2, which ultimately proved to be the final goal of the first frame. After 15 minutes, Wilkes outshot Goucher 7-5 while both teams recorded eight ground balls.
 
Marino was tested early into the second, making his second save of the game just 42 seconds into the quarter. Warns clinched his second goal at 11:28 after a great individual effort to move the ball down the field and into open space. His rocket of a shot gave the Colonels a 3-2 lead. Wilkes would go on to double their lead with just under ten minutes remaining in the first half when Jackson Casper (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) worked his way around the net and found Austin Sosnovik (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) in traffic. Sosnovik ripped a shot past the Gopher goalie for his fourteenth of the season with Casper getting credit for an assist on the 4-2 goal. Marino came up clutch with his third and fourth saves of the day in short succession with just over five minutes to go in the quarter. The Colonel goalkeeper made yet another save during a Gopher man-up situation to preserve the two-goal advantage. As the first half concluded, Wilkes controlled a 4-2 lead.
 
Goucher held a slight edge in overall shots at 19-18, while Wilkes fired 9 shots on goal to the Gophers' seven. Neither team scored with the extra man and the Blue and Gold controlled 17 of 30 ground balls. Both goalkeepers made five saves through 30 minutes of action.
 
The Gophers put up the first goal of the second half roughly five minutes into the quarter before tacking on another goal just 31 seconds later to tie the game. Goucher reclaimed a 5-4 lead at 9:23 of the third quarter, then tacked on their fourth unanswered goal to grow their lead to a pair. Things slowed down offensively following the game's tenth goal, thanks in-part to Marino's seventh save of the afternoon to prevent further damage. The Gophers resumed their ferocious pace on offense later on in the third, finding the back of the net two more times to expand their lead to 8-4. The visitors put up six unanswered goals in the third frame while winning five faceoffs. On the other side, Wilkes fired all four of their shots on goal and doubled up Goucher on ground balls 12-6.
 
Marino continued to do his part to keep Wilkes in the game in the fourth, turning aside three more shots to keep Goucher from growing the lead to five. Austin Seames (Newton, NJ/Kittatinny Regional) broke the Colonels' scoreless streak at 7:39 when he lifted a ball past the goalie to bring the hosts within three goals of tying the game. The Gophers responded a minute and ten seconds later to restore their four-goal lead, then tacked on a 10-5 marker with roughly three and a half minutes remaining in regulation. That would prove to be the final goal of the game as the final buzzer sounded and Goucher claimed their 10-5 victory.
 
Warns scored two goals on three shots for the Colonels while Sosnovik led the team with five shots on goal. Luke Wawrzynek (Harleysville, PA/Souderton Area) and Johnson  both won three faceoffs with the latter also recording three caused turnovers. In goal, Marino finished with 12 saves.
 
Tyler May led the way for Goucher with five goals on eight shots. The junior also scooped up one ground ball. Jacob Morgan also recorded a hat trick with three goals while Aaron Butera went 12-16 on faceoffs. Jack Smith picked up the win with 12 saves in net.
 
The Colonels hit the road on Wednesday, April 10 when they take on Lycoming College for a 7:00 p.m. Landmark battle with the Warriors in Williamsport.