CANTON, OH - The Malone University Men's Lacrosse team headed into their regular season finale needing a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. Unfortunately a key sequence just before halftime powered the Wheeling University Cardinals to a 17-13 victory over the Pioneers. This defeat spelled the end of several dominant Pioneer careers, with multiple members of the inaugural 2022-23 team seeing their Malone careers come to an end as a new era will be ushered in. Malone finishes the season 5-10, 3-6 in GMAC play. 

The Cardinals started off hot as they rattled home a quick pair to take an early 2-0 lead. Ramsey Burnard put the Pioneers on the board on a feed from Darek Smith, however, Wheeling answered right back with a trio of goals to bring their advantage to 5-1. In the dying seconds of the first quarter, Talon Heath reduced the deficit to three with an electric strike of his own. 

Luke Ory opened up the second quarter with a man up goal thanks to a Wheeling penalty that occurred at the end of the first. Ory then took a feed from Zac Smargiasso to put Malone within one. The Cardinals scored three more but the Pioneers answered right back as Smargiasso sandwiched a pair of goals around an Ory rocket to bring the scoring to 8-7. Malone held all the momentum, until they didn't. A disastrous closing minute saw the Cardinals net four ringers in a mere sixty seconds, which proved to be the difference as Wheeling took a 12-7 lead into the half. 

Although the Pioneers played a strong second half, they never quite closed the gap. Smith answered an opening Cardinal goal to put things at 13-8. The teams then traded a pair a piece as Burnard and Ory scored for the Pioneers. Facing a 15-10 deficit after three, Malone had to fight with their season on the line. 

Wheeling opened up with another strike to push their lead to six. Heath and the Pioneers were not going down without a fight as he scored a pair within seconds to give the home team life. In the end, it wasn't enough as Malone ultimately fell 17-13. 

Ory led Malone with four goals and an assist while Heath and Smargiasso both had three goals and an assist. Kamden Kraft and Ty McCort both won a majority of their face offs for the Pioneers. Trent Urquhart saved a season high ten shots 

Smargiasso and Heath closed out their storied Pioneer careers, as each of them claimed multiple All-Conference appearances and made an immediate impact as clear leaders since the programs inception. Ory and Burnard spent the last few years as key offensive cogs, powering the offense when needed, but constantly doing the dirty work for a feisty Pioneer team. Eion Juhas and Khi Finch round out the graduating seniors as electric performers who did what doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

The Pioneers head into the off-season and turn the page on many of their key pieces, however, the future remains bright as several starters will return and a large incoming 2026 freshman class continues to pave the way for Malone and Coach Michael Campbell.