Men's Lacrosse Suffers Non-Conference Loss at Wheaton, 12-3

NORTON, Mass. -- Junior attacker Shane Ross (Hanson, Mass.) netted three goals and sophomore defender Jacob Wharton (Worcester, Mass.) caused four turnovers and picked up five ground balls to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team to a 12-3 victory over visiting Emmanuel College (Mass.) this evening at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons improve to 8-2 on the season, while the Saints fall to 1-5. 

Wheaton dominated offensive possession, outshooting Emmanuel, 60-34, while owning a 44-18 advantage on ground balls. The Lyons committed just 10 turnovers, while forcing their guests into 24. Wheaton was nearly perfect on the clear, converting 21 of 22 opportunities.

First-year midfielder Mike McLaughlin (Stoughton, Mass.), Robert Sullivan (Newton, Mass.) and Mike Goodwin (Acton, Mass.) all tallied a pair of goals for the Lyons. Goodwin added six ground balls to his night as well. Junior midfielder Dayton Kozlowski (Dalton, Mass.) won 10 of 15 faceoffs and picked up seven ground balls, while first year attacker Jack Board (Westborough, Mass.) picked up four ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers. First year goalie John Drew (North Andover, Mass.) stopped 10 of 13 shots in 50:21 of action, before junior Cory Bannon (Hopkinton, Mass.) stopped all five shots he faced in the final 9:39 of play. 

Sophomore attacker Robert Favuzza (Saugus, Mass.) scored a goal and added an assist for the Saints, while junior attackman Drew Chant (Warwick, R.I.) tallied a goal, picked up a pair of ground balls and caused a turnover. First year defender Evan Decker (Milwaukee, Wis.) registered three ground balls and caused a turnover and sophomore goalie Eric Anderson (Sparta, N.J.) made 24 saves to fall just one stop short of the school record for the visitors.

Wheaton scored all four goals of the first quarter to take a 4-0 lead. The first three goals of the game came in a span of 3:37 for the Lyons. Senior attacker Alec Morin (Belmont, Mass.) wasted no time in getting Wheaton on the board, scoring just 12 ticks into the match. McLaughlin followed at 12:29 with an unassisted goal and Goodwin netted the first of two of his markers in the quarter just 78 seconds later. 

The Saints took advantage of a penalty opportunity when sophomore attackman Thomas Quigley (Marblehead, Mass.) found Favuzza for his fourth goal of the season to open the second quarter and cut the deficit to 4-1 with 11:10 left.  

Ross and Sullivan closed out the quarter with a goal each to give the Lyons a 6-1 lead at the intermission. 

Chant and McLaughlin traded goals in the final two minutes of the third quarter for the only scoring of the period to make it a 7-2 game. McLaughlin's marker came with just one second left in the quarter for Wheaton.

Sullivan and Ross each scored in the first three minutes of the final quarter to give the Lyons a 9-2 cushion with 12:03 remaining in the game. 

Junior attackman Ryan Castle (Boxford, Mass.) netted the only goal of the frame for Emmanuel to pull the Saints to within 9-3 at the 9:44 mark. Kozlowski won the faceoff and raced down the field, before finding junior attackman Max Cooper (Tolland, Conn.) just five seconds after the faceoff for Wheaton's 10th goal of the night. 

Ross scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season for the Lyons with 4:52 showing on the fourth quarter clock to push their lead to 11-3, before Wheaton junior attacker Sam Kerrigan (West Hartford, Conn.) fed first year midfielder Bill Hekeler (Harwinton, Conn.) for his first collegiate goal to cap the scoring with 1:27 to go in the game.

The Lyons return to action on Saturday, April 2 when they travel to New London, Conn. to take on New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference rival United States Coast Guard Academy at 3:00 p.m., while Emmanuel heads to Newton, Mass. to play Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Lasell University at 1:00 p.m.