NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team wasn't able to overcome an early 7-0 deficit, as the Lyons fell to regionally-ranked Springfield College, 21-11 in a key Pilgrim League game during Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Mirrione Stadium.

Wheaton slipped to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in league play.  Ranked eighth in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) poll, Springfield improved to 7-5 and remained unbeaten at 3-0 against league foes.

Seniors Bobby Barry (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury), Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and Chris Landers (Manchester, Mass./Proctor Academy) scored three goals apiece for Wheaton.  Junior Billy McNamara (Mansfield, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon School) tallied once while handing out five assists.  Freshman Jesse O'Neil (Charlestown, Mass./Boston Latin School) stopped nine shots in the loss.

Nine different players scored for Springfield, with senior Austin Orsini (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and junior Shane Ferguson (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Stony Brook University) tallying five times apiece.  Senior Shawn Runyon (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) posted two goals to go alongside five assists, while juniors Harry Bernstein (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), Parker Geane (Easton, CT/Eastern Connecticut) and Jarrid Johnson (Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore) contributed two markers and one assist apiece.  Freshman goalie Robert Maher (Katonah, N.Y./John Jay) made four saves in recording his first win.

The Pride ripped off seven straight goals to open the game, leading 7-0 after one quarter, before Wheaton answered with a pair of tallies from Cederberg in the first 2:09 of the second period.  The Lyons held a 6-5 edge in the quarter, tallying three markers in the final 5:37 to pull within 12-6 at the intermission.

Springfield opened things up in the third period with four goals in a span of 2:05 for a 17-7 advantage at 7:38.  The teams traded markers in the last 41 seconds of the quarter to make the score 18-8.  Wheaton scored twice in the first 3:38 of the final session before the Pride rallied with three goals to earn their largest advantage at 21-10 with 2:44 remaining.

Wheaton returns to action on Tuesday when it visits Connecticut College for a non-conference game at 4:30 p.m.