VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Bridgewater College men's lacrosse team fell to the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins 9-7 Saturday night. The Eagles drop to 3-4 in league play. 

The Basics 

Score: Bridgewater 7, Virginia Wesleyan 9 

Records: Bridgewater (9-5, 3-4 ODAC), Virginia Wesleyan (10-5, 4-4 ODAC) 

How it Happened 

• Virginia Wesleyan drew first blood with 2:04 of game action complete. The VWU offense ripped a couple more shot attempts before the Eagles were able to gain a solid offensive possession. Blake Sherin took the first shot attempt of the night for the Eagles with 10:05 remaining in the opening stanza, but was unable to put the Eagles on the board. Isaac Beals took his first shot of the night, but it was saved by the Va. Wes goalie. After a turnover from the Marlins, Beals found the back of the net unassisted to even the score at a tally mark apiece. After a four-minute scoring drought from both sides, the Eagles capitalized on a man-up opportunity with four minutes remaining in the first half to give the Eagles their first lead of the night. Cooper Hann found Luke Wendler for the second Bridgewater goal of the contest. In the final seconds of the opening period, Virginia Wesleyan struck again to send both teams into the first break with a 2-2 tie.  

• Virginia Wesleyan registered the only two goals of the second quarter, both occurring in the back half of the period. With 7:34 remaining in the period, the Marlins capitalized on a BC turnover to retake the lead. The Marlins scored once more in the final 90 seconds of the period to send the Eagles into the halftime huddle down 4-2.  

• The Marlins came out the break with a goal directly after the faceoff win, increasing their lead to three. The Marlins had a couple of opportunities to increase their cushion, but were unable to make it past Ian Cook. The Eagles got their break after two minutes of game action when Tristan Lee connected with Beals for a Bridgewater goal. Colt Short was credited with the following faceoff win due to a faceoff violation, setting up a Luke Wendler goal nearly a minute later. Following another BC faceoff win, both teams traded possessions, both ending in turnovers. CJ McKnight caused a Virginia Wesleyan turnover with 10:35 remaining in the third period to ignite another Bridgewater scoring opportunity. Jake Wagner took a shot, but missed wide. Seconds later, Wagner had a second scoring opportunity and capitalized, equalizing the score at five apiece. Neither team was able score in the final 9:45 of game action in the third, despite several attempts from both offenses. 

• Virginia Wesleyan scored again in the opening seconds of the final stanza to ignite a 4-0 Marlins run over the next nine minutes of game action. Bridgewater scored twice in the final three minutes, but were unable to close the gap. 

Game Notes 

• 6 of the 7 Bridgewater goals came from Luke Wendler and Isaac Beals. Both players recorded three goals with no assists. 

• Both teams were equal in nearly every statistical category. Both teams recorded 39 shot attempts with 12 coming in the third quarter. The Marlins, however, put 22 on target compared to Bridgewater's 19. Both teams cleared at a high rate. Bridgewater's 92% clear rate (24-26) edged out Virginia Wesleyan's 89% (25-28). 

• Virginia Wesleyan won the ground ball battle by a sizeable margin. The Marlins collected 34 ground balls compared to the Bridgewater 20. 

• Colt Short took the most of the reps in the faceoff circle for the Eagles. Short went 8-18 in the circle in the contest. Andrew Orsi took the other two reps, surrendering both. 

• Bridgewater went 1-6 on extra man opportunities. Virginia Wesleyan was unable to convert on their two extra man opportunities. 

• Ian Cook recorded 13 saves in four quarters of action. 

• The Eagles have now lost two straight to the Marlins. BC still leads the all-time series 8-5. 

What's Next? 

The Eagles have three ODAC games remaining on the schedule before the postseason. Currently sitting 7th in the conference rankings, the Eagles sit a half-game in front of Shenandoah, who is 3-5 in league play. Bridgewater faces Roanoke on Wednesday, Apr. 15 at 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FloCollege.