NORTON, Mass. -- Sophomore attacker Avonlea LeBeau (North Branford, Conn.) netted a career-high six goals to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team over visiting Emerson College, 19-1, this evening in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference contest at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons improve to 10-7 overall and 5-4 in league play, while the Lions fall to 9-7 and 3-6. 

The win clinches the number five seed in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament for the Lyons, who will face fourth-seeded United States Coast Guard Academy on Saturday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m. on Cadet Memorial Field in New London, Conn. 

The victory gives Wheaton its highest win total since 2015 when it compiled a 10-8 mark.

The Lyons needed just 31 shots and more than doubled Emerson's total of 15 attempts. Wheaton was nearly automatic on free position opportunities, converting on seven of nine attempts.

The Lyons dominated the match from start to finish, scoring the first 18 goals of the game, while holding the Lions scoreless for the first 50 minutes of play.

LeBeau scored six times on seven shots and added two ground balls and a draw control for Wheaton, while junior midfielder Brooke Harvey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) tallied five points on four goals and an assist and added a game-high eight draw controls to go with three ground balls and four caused turnovers. Senior middie Darien Webb (Hamden, Conn.) netted a trio of markers and added an assist, a ground ball, a draw control and a caused turnover. First year attacker Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) also had four points, including three goals for the Lyons. Senior defender Jessica Cully (Hanover, Mass.) registered five ground balls and added three caused turnovers. Junior goalie Emily Oundjian (Longmeadow, Mass.) turned away six of seven shots.

Senior midfielder Hannah Beck (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) tallied the only goal for Emerson in addition to a ground ball and a caused turnover. Senior midfielder Ainsley Basic (Palos Verdes, Calif.) collected an assist, three ground balls and a caused turnover and sophomore midfielder Maddy Reyes (San Ramon, Calif.) picked up four ground balls, two draw controls and caused a pair of turnovers. Junior goalie Nina Khosla (La Jolla, Calif.) made eight saves for the Lions.

Wheaton shut out its guests through the first three quarters of play, while scoring seven in the first, five in the second and five more in the third for a 17-0 advantage after three quarters of play. Harvey found the back of the net three times in the opening quarter for the Lyons, including the first marker of the night at the 12:06 mark. LeBeau and Finnie each scored a pair of goals in the quarter for a 7-0 lead. LeBeau capped the second quarter with two goals in the final minute of play to give the home team a commanding 12-0 cushion at the intermission.

Webb and LeBeau each tallied a pair of goals in the third period for Wheaton, while junior Erin Ortega (Merrimack, N.H.) continued to take advantage of her offensive opportunities with a free position score in the quarter.

Finnie gave the Lyons an 18-0 advantage just 82 seconds into the quarter before Beck took a feed from Basic to put Emerson on the board with 10:01 remaining in the contest. Webb found sophomore attacker Abigail Mountain (Niantic, Conn.) with the final score of the evening at 4:50 of the fourth quarter for a 19-1 lead.