The Lake Erie men's lacrosse team had an offensive explosion on Saturday with a 16-7 victory over Wilmington (Del.) in Newark, Delaware. The Storm (1-4, 0-0) dominated the Wildcats (0-2, 0-0) 13-4 in the second half and cruised to the win.

Wilmington came out on their home opener and tried to gain control early on by closing the first quarter with a 2-1 lead over the Storm. Blain Wallace marked the first goal for Lake Erie unassisted with just under three minutes remaining in the first period. 

In the second period, JP Napier evened the game up after a Wildcat turnover. The tie game was quickly erased after Wilmington quickly responded with a goal from a converted clear attempt.  A Jackman Schooley score would tie the game back up 3-3 just before the halftime break.

Lake Erie's halftime adjustments proved to be key as they finished the game going on a 13-4 scoring run. Tommy Bichsel, Nathan Quinn, Dawson Kindall, Michael Bayda, Connor Dent, Schooley, Brendan Luthart, Napier, and Wallace registered a goal for the Storm during the second half landslide. 

Mike Flury finished with 17 groundballs and went a perfect 26-26 in face-off attempts, while Napier and Schooley finished with three goals apiece. Schooley also added two assists and four groundball recoveries. Tommy Bichsel, Dawson Kindall, and Wallace each finished with two goals. 

"Today was a great team win!" said head coach Sam Ashton. "Our guys played complimentary lacrosse on both ends of the field. Our defense stepped up and made stops and our offense capitalized and started to find their rhythm in the second half. Mike Flury did a great job of continuing to get the ball to our offense to keep that rhythm as he went 100% at the X today. I'm proud of the guys for putting it all together today to get a win"

Lake Erie outshot Wilmington 48-35 and secured 48 groundballs compared to the Wildcats' 16. Lincoln Potter got the start in goal and allowed the seven goals on 15 shots faced with eight saves. 

The Storm will return to Painesville and will host visiting Westminster (Utah) on Friday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now available here.