CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team was defeated by host Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 17-5, today in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference contest at Roberts Field on the campus of MIT in Cambridge, Mass. 

The Lyons fall to 5-8 overall and 0-4 in league play, while the Engineers improve to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in conference action.

MIT controlled the faceoff, winning 14 of 25 draws and outshot the Lyons, 58-37. The Engineers held a 45-27 advantage in ground balls as well.

Sophomore midfielder Mike McLaughlin (Stoughton, Mass.) led Wheaton with a pair of goals. Sophomore classmates Charlie Racine (Oradell, NJ) and Ethan Powers (Braintree, Mass.) each scored a goal in addition to Racine registering seven ground balls and caused a turnover.  Junior attackman, Jack Hutchings (Billerica, Mass.) picked up a goal in the third quarter. 

MIT Graduate student Ryan Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) generated six goals and one assist for the Engineers. 

Racine opened the scoring after 1:06 elapsed in the opening quarter but MIT evened the game when first year Bryce Metalios (Riverside, Conn.) redirected a feed from first year Garrett Campagna (Lancaster, Pa.) at the 7:58 mark. A defensive battle ensued until Metalios found junior Bennett Stankovits (Rumson, N.J.) with 23 seconds remaining, resulting in a 2-1 edge for the Engineers after one quarter of play.  

MIT carried the momentum into the second stanza as sophomore Nick Stiles (New Canaan, Conn.) scored on a pass from first year Braedon Rudolph (Denver, Colo.) after 1:37 expired. Almost two minutes later, McLaughlin cut Wheaton's deficit in half (3-2) but the Engineers replied with three straight goals to create a comfortable 6-2 cushion at halftime. First year Zach Bleil's (New Canaan, Conn.) solo effort started the burst while Gebhardt followed with a goal and then an assist on a marker by Stiles. 

The Engineers generated three goals during the first 105 seconds of the third quarter, helping them establish a 9-2 advantage. Gebhardt scored twice while Metalios posted a goal and an assist. The score remained unchanged until Powers redirected a pass from Racine with 5:44 on the clock. MIT replied with a 3-1 spurt, resulting in a 12-4 advantage at the end of the frame. Gebhardt recorded all three goals for the Engineers while Hutchings found the back of the net for the Lyons. 

MIT controlled the action in the fourth quarter as it outscored Wheaton, 5-1. 

Metalios finished with three goals, two assists, and three ground balls while Stiles notched three goals and one assist. Sophomore Matthew Sardis (Bernardsville, N.J.) won 10 of his 16 faceoff attempts and collected 11 groundballs as senior Chris Perrino (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) tallied five caused turnovers and four ground balls. Sophomore Luke Chapman (Houston, Texas) chipped in three ground balls and three caused turnovers. 

In net, MIT senior Devin McCabe (New Castle, N.H.) made three saves in the first half while senior classmate David Vapnek (San Diego, Calif.) produced four saves during the next 24 minutes. First year Collin Lung (Lynbrook, N.Y.) closed out the game with two saves in his first intercollegiate appearance. Sophomore goalie, John Drew (North Andover, Mass.) stopped 15 of 32 shots on goal for the Lyons. 

Sophomore defender, Tiago Paula Santos (Newington, Conn.) posted five ground balls, while junior teammate Jacob Wharton (Worcester, Mass.) generated four caused turnovers. 

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, April 15th hosting NEWMAC rival Clark University at 4:00 p.m., while the Engineers travel to New London, Conn. to play league foe Coast Guard Academy on the same day at 1:00 p.m.