By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24

ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University men's lacrosse team claimed its third straight Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title and broke the program's single-season wins record with a win over the University of Mount Union by a final score of 16-7 inside the Kehres Stadium. 

The win caps the team's third consecutive undefeated OAC regular season campaign and extends the team's winning streak in regular season conference play to an OAC record 35 games. After starting the year 0-2, the Yellow Jackets have rattled off a program record 15 consecutive wins, setting a new program mark for single-season wins in the process, breaking the previous record of 14 matched by the 2016, 2019, and 2022 squads. 

BW (15-2, 9-0 OAC) was led by senior All-OAC attack/midfielder Kyler Byerly (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), as he recorded a game-high five points, tallying four goals and an assist. Senior All-OAC midfielder Jonas Aquilla (Westlake/St. Edward) matched Byerly's game-high goal tally with four goals. Freshman attack/midfielder Bennet Trout (Pickerington/North) added two goals and an assist.

In net, senior All-OAC goalkeeper Joe Storner (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) recorded 18 saves en route to his program single-season record-setting 15th win of the year. Storner's 18 saves pushed his career total to 603, making him the first player in program history to surpass the 600 career saves mark.

Mount Union (6-10, 3-6 OAC) was led by senior attack Logan Gebhart, as he recorded a team-high three goals and an assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Logan Gunderman recorded 16 saves in the losing effort. 

FIRST QUARTER

• 11:13 & 8:58 - Byerly tallied two unassisted goals in the opening minutes, giving BW an early two-goal advantage.
• 8:21 - Just 37 seconds later, freshman attack/midfielder Reichen Geiselhart (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) made it a 3-0 game.
• 1:46 - Byerly made it a first-quarter hat trick off an assist by junior All-OAC attack Jake Nanosky (Medina).
• 0:37 - Aquilla capped a 5-0 first quarter for the Yellow Jackets with his first goal of the evening, assisted by Trout. 

SECOND QUARTER

• 13:53 - Freshman midfielder Nate Hoover (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) kept the party going, scoring his sixth goal of the season to give BW a 6-0 lead.
• 12:31 & 5:28 - Mount Union got on the board with back-to-back goals, scored by Gebhart and sophomore midfielder Connor Addison.
• 4:00 - Senior defender Clay Kolyke (Medina) registered his first career goal in his final regular season match, assisted by Trout, to give BW a 7-2 lead.
• 0:29 & 0:08 - Aquilla scored twice in 21 seconds to cap a dominant first half for the Yellow Jackets, as BW took a seven-goal lead into the break. 

THIRD QUARTER

• Mount Union registered all three goals in the third quarter, scoring at 12:35, 10:06, and 2:56.
• Despite the Purple Raiders' third-quarter rally, BW took a 9-5 lead into the final 15 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER

• 13:35 & 11:48 - Brothers Bennet Trout and Keaton Trout (Pickerington/North) scored the opening two goals of the quarter, restoring BW's momentum.
• 10:33 - The Purple Raiders' Gebhart tallied his third of the game, cutting the lead to 11-6.
• 9:47 & 7:06 - Byerly and Aquilla registered their fourth goals of the game within minutes of each other, pushing the lead to 13-6.
• 6:01 - Bennet Trout grabbed his team-leading 33rd goal of the season, pushing the lead to eight goals and pulling himself within two goals of the program's freshman record (35).
• 4:09 & 1:47 - Senior attack/midfielder Jake Branton (Marysville) and junior attack/midfielder Hunter Boehm (Delaware/Olentangy) scored late to close out BW's 16-goal explosion.
• The Yellow Jackets outscored Mount Union 7-2 in the fourth quarter, closing out a 16-7 win and securing the team's third consecutive OAC regular season title. 

BW returns to action on Wednesday, May 3, hosting an OAC tournament semifinal on the Tressel Field inside George Finnie Stadium at 7:00 p.m. With a win, the Yellow Jackets would earn the right to host the OAC tournament final on Saturday, May 6, as the top seed in the tournament.

More information regarding the OAC tournament will be available later this week.