WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania—The Baldwin Wallace University men's lacrosse team defeated Washington & Jefferson College, 13-4, in its season opener inside Alexandre Stadium.
BW (1-0) was led by freshman Ethan Napieralski (Lewiscender /Olentangy) who scored three goals in his first game as a Yellow Jacket and added two assists for five points. In addition to Napieralski, sophomore midfielder Jack Gerlack (Rocky River) and sophomore attack Alex Binner (East Amherst, N.Y. / Williamsville North) also tallied up three points.
Washington & Jefferson (1-2) was led by junior midfielder Kyle Heining with two goals and senior goalkeeper Jacob Succop made 21 saves.
The Yellow Jackets scored the only goal of the first quarter when Napieralski scored his first collegiate goal at the 5:14 mark. BW took a 3-0 lead when sophomore attack Derek Andrews (Alden, N.Y. / Iroquois) netted his first goal as a Yellow Jacket at the 6:07 mark. With 1:56 left in the first half the Presidents got on the board when junior midfielder Kyle Heining found the back of the net with 1:56 left to make the score 3-1 at halftime. BW outshot Washington & Jefferson 33 to 9 in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets outscored the Presidents 4-0 in the third quarter to take a 7-1 lead. Junior midfielder Shane Rakich (Dublin/Olentangy Liberty), Napieralski, sophomore attack Brock Riemenschneider (Rocky River), and sophomore Alex Juhasz (Lancaster, N.Y.) all scored in the third period.
BW scored six more goals in the final period of regulation and ended a 10-0 run when junior attack James Wilhelm (Bay Village/St. Ignatius) netted his first goal of the season with 3:52 left in the game, giving the Yellow Jackets a 13-1 lead. Washington & Jefferson outscored BW 4-0 at the end of regulation, but the Yellow Jackets held on for the victory.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, March 2 when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to square off against LaRoche (Pa.) College on the Lacrosse/Soccer Field inside the Kerr Fitness and Sports Center at 4 p.m.
