NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team found itself in a 4-0 hole early against nationally-ranked Amherst College before losing to the 14th-ranked Lord Jeffs by a 17-9 count in Tuesday afternoon's non-conference game at Mirrione Stadium.
The Lyons slipped to 1-4 on the young season, while Amherst, which is ranked by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), won its sixth straight game to improve to 6-1. The Lord Jeffs are also ranked third in the region by the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA).
Seniors Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and Chris Landers (Manchester, Mass./Proctor Academy) and junior Charlie Willauer (Duxbury, Mass./Proctor Academy) scored two goals apiece for Wheaton. Juniors Mike Harrington (Sturbridge, Mass./Bancroft School) and Billy McNamara (Mansfield, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon School) each added a goal and an assist, while freshman Jesse O'Neil (Charlestown, Mass./Boston Latin School) made 11 saves.
Eight different players scored for Amherst, with junior Cole Cherney (Chappaqua, N.Y./Deerfield Academy) tallying a game-high five goals. Freshman Devin Acton (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) posted a hat trick to go alongside one assist, while junior Evan Redwood (Lutherville, Md./Gilman School), sophomore Ramsey Bates (McLean, Va./Saint Albans) and freshman Aaron Mathias (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) contributed two markers apiece. Junior goalie Sam Jakimo (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) had five saves in 37:50.
The Lord Jeffs scored four goals in the first 3:19, with junior Alex Fox (Garden City, N.Y./Chaminade) having a hand in the initial two with a tally and an assist. Willauer got the Lyons on the board at 9:22 on a feed from senior Bobby Barry (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury), but the visitors countered with the next three goals for a 7-1 edge at 6:58.
Wheaton made the score 7-2 with 5:31 remaining in the opening period before Amherst went on a 6-0 run spanning the first and second quarters for a commanding 13-2 advantage 2:55 before the intermission. After trailing 13-3 at halftime, the Lyons held a 6-4 scoring edge in the second half, including tallying the game's final four goals.
Wheaton returns to action on Thursday night in a non-conference game at the University of New England at 7:00 p.m.
