NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team pulled out
to a 10-goal lead midway through the third quarter before fending
off Babson College, 15-9 on Saturday during Pilgrim League action
in Mirrione Stadium.
The Lyons, who were playing their only game between April 4 and
16, improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while the
Beavers slipped to 5-5 and 1-1.
Sophomore Billy McNamara
(Mansfield, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) paced
Wheaton with four goals and a trio of assists, while junior
Chris
Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor Academy) tallied four
goals and a helper after entering the game needing six points to
reach the 100-point plateau for his career. Classmate Ben Cederberg
(Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) added a goal and four assists to
join Landers with five points.
Senior Warren Garceau
(Guilford, CT/Canterbury School) played an integral role
in Wheaton going 23-for-27 on face-offs, as the draw man went
21-for-25 while picking up 10 ground balls. He added two goals and
an assist, as did classmate Drew Schaffer (New
Haven, CT/Loomis Chaffee School), while junior Bobby Barry
(Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) scored twice. Senior Schuyler Horn
(New Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) made six
saves.
Seven different Beavers scored on the day, as freshman
Alex Patinkin (Providence, RI/Providence Country Day
School) netted a pair to go along with an assist, and
junior Andrew Packer (Hudson, OH/Western Reserve
Academy) tallied a pair. Senior Mike Saucier
(Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) collected 14 stops.
Landers and Schaffer tallied 2:23 apart during the first period
to give Wheaton a 2-0 edge before Babson got on the board at 4:39,
but the Lyons used a 3-0 run to nab a 5-1 advantage by 11:34 of the
second quarter, with Barry scoring twice in the stretch.
A man-up goal by the Beavers brought them to within 5-2 at the
7:24 mark, but the hosts responded with a 7-0 run to pull out to a
12-2 lead by 8:39 of the third. McNamara scored four goals during
that time, while Cederberg provided a tally and all four of his
assists.
Three straight Babson goals, including two with a man up,
brought the visitors within 12-5, but Garceau and Landers scored
off of McNamara helpers 2:26 apart early in the fourth to produce a
nine-goal margin with 12:20 left. The Beavers netted four of the
final five goals.
Wheaton breaks for a week before traveling to Springfield
College next Saturday for a 12:00 p.m. contest. The squads have met
in the past two Pilgrim League Tournament title games, with the
Pride winning both, including by a 12-7 final last spring.
