Lyons pick up second league win

BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team fell to Babson College, 16-4, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup on Wednesday night at MacDowell Field.

First-year Jason Cox (Westwood, Mass./Xaverian) and junior Spencer Low (Natick, Mass./The Rivers School) guided Babson's offense with three goals apiece. Axel Brown (Little Compton, R.I./Groton School), Kyle Barsalou (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow), and Matthew Logan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) also added two goals each.

Devin Higgins (Nantucket, Mass./Nantucket) led Wheaton with two markers, while Casey Buchholz (North Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) and sophomore Will Morrison (Osterville, Mass./Salisbury School) both chipped in with solo tallies.

Babson outshot Wheaton 52-20, produced a 53-30 advantage in ground balls and went 14-for-23 at the face-off X. The Beavers also were 24-for-26 in transition, while Wheaton registered a 16-for-27 showing in clears.

Defensively, Babson held the Lyons to one goal in each quarter en route to fourth league victory this season.

Brown and Low tallied back-to-back goals to begin the first period before Higgins broke up the string with his first of two goals on the night on a feed by Ryan Gjerset (Austin, Texas/St. Michael's Catholic Academy) at 4:58.

Low concluded the scoring in the opening period at the 2:15 mark to give the hosts a 3-1 differential headed into the second. The Beavers then outscored Wheaton, 3-1, in the second period for a 6-2 lead at the break.

In the second half, Babson potted three-straight goals to start off the second session for a 9-2 gap on the scoreboard before Higgins interrupted the Beavers' scoring run with a goal at 2:48.

Babson countered with seven unanswered goals to seal the victory, which was highlighted by two strikes from Logan and Cox.

Wheaton junior goalkeeper Ryan Clair (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School) made a game-high 12 saves. Babson first-year goalkeeper Jordan Shapiro (Pleasantville, N.Y./Fordham Prep) stopped three shots to push his record to 7-6 on the year.

Wheaton (9-4, 3-1 NEWMAC) hosts Springfield College on Saturday, April 18 for a NEWMAC matchup at 1 p.m. Babson (7-6, 4-0 NEWMAC) welcomes Clark University to its campus on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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