NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore attacker Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) tallied six points and junior goalie Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) denied 12 of 16 shots to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team over host United States Coast Guard Academy, 10-4, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Cadet Memorial Field in New London, Conn.
The Lyons win their third game in a row to improve to 6-3 overall and a perfect 2-0 in league play, while the Bears fall to 1-6 and 0-2.
The win over Coast Guard is the first for Wheaton since a 10-8 triumph on April 16, 2016 in Norton. The Lyons' defense surrendered its fewest goal total since a 12-3 win over Emmanuel College on March 30, 2022.
Almstrom needed to be on point for Wheaton with the Bears owning a 46-30 shot advantage during the match and eight man-up opportunities, but were shut down the entire day in penalty situations by the Wheaton defense. Coast Guard also owned a 25-18 ground ball margin.
Despite the Bears' statistical advantages it never translated to the scoreboard. The Lyons did not allow more than two goals in any quarter and held Coast Guard to just one marker in the second half and none in the third quarter. Wheaton held a 5-3 halftime lead, but scored four times in the third to effectively pull away with a 9-3 margin that seemed insurmountable for the home team heading into the final quarter of play.
Edwards added two ground balls, while junior midfielder Charlie Racine (Oradell, N.J.) and first year Will Durkee (Oakland, Maine) each netted a pair of goals for the Lyons. Durkee connected on both of his shots, while Racine also picked up a ground ball. Senior defender Jacob Wharton (Worcester, Mass.) scooped up three ground balls and caused a trio of turnovers, while classmate Cole Reid (Laconia, N.H.) caused a pair of miscues and came up with three ground balls. Almstrom's double-digit save effort was his fifth straight outing with 10 or more stops and his seventh of the season.
The Bears' offense was paced by senior midfielder Matt Lubin (Baltimore, Md.) with a goal and an assist to go with a pair of caused turnovers, while junior middie Ryan Hunter (Bethesda, Md.), first year midfielder Van Buhrman and first year midfielder Jake Chambers all notched a goal for the home team. Junior midfielder Oliver Bolton (Darien, Conn.) caused a pair of turnovers and picked up two ground balls, while first year midfielder Eric Key came up with a game-high four ground balls. First year face-off specialist Abe Al-Khalili also picked up four ground balls and won 10 of 17 faceoffs. Senior starting goalie Matt Reheuser (Haymarket, Va.) stopped seven of 16 shots through the first three quarters for Coast Guard, before yielding to sophomore Dustin Miller (Tyler, Texas), who turned away one of two shots in 12:13 and sophomore Nate Johnson (Ardmore, Pa.), who did not face a shot in the final 2:47 of play.
The Bears broke into the scoring column first when Lubin found Chambers for a goal with 7:07 left in the opening quarter. The lead lasted 49 seconds before Edwards found the back of the net to spark four straight markers from four different players for Wheaton to take a 4-1 lead with 7:11 showing in the second quarter.
Lubin and Buhrman bookended a goal from Lyon senior attackman Jack Hutchings (Billerica, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 5-3 before the end of the half.
Wheaton dominated the third quarter with Durkee scoring twice, including a goal coming with 4:43 remaining in the period to give the Lyons a 9-3 cushion before the third quarter horn sounded.
Hunter registered a goal for Coast Guard at 4:34 of the fourth quarter to end a scoring drought that lasted 26:07. Edwards countered with the final goal of the match for Wheaton to give the visitors the winning margin at 10-4.
The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, March 27 when they travel to Boston, Mass. to take on Emmanuel College at 7:00 p.m., while the Bears head to Kings Point, N.Y. to play United States Merchant Marine Academy on the same day and time.
