NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team was defeated by nationally ranked No.16/17 Babson College, 20-6, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Nordin Field on the campus of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Beavers, who are ranked No. 16 by USA Lacrosse and No. 17 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, improve to 8-2 overall and remain a perfect 3-0 in the NEWMAC.
Babson controlled the possession arrow throughout the game. The Beavers held a commanding 52-29 shot margin (including a 42-18 shot advantage through the first three quarters). The visitors proved to be strong on face-offs, as Babson won 24 of 29 face-offs and also led the ground ball advantage 40-26. The Beavers converted on 24 of 25 clear attempts and the Lyons went 23 of 27 on clears. Wheaton forced the Beavers into three more turnovers as the visitors committed 20 turnovers, while the Lyons had 17 turnovers.
Senior midfielder Cole Reid (Laconia, N.H.) led Wheaton with a career-high three goals and tallied a caused turnover. Junior attackman Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn) tied a career-high two assists and added a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior defender Jacob Wharton (Worcester, Mass.) recorded a game-high three caused turnovers marking his fourth game this season that he has reached at least three caused turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) got the start in goal and stopped seven shots in the first half. Junior goalkeeper John Drew (North Andover, Mass.) played the second half in net and recorded a season-high seven saves.
The Beavers were led by a deep offensive attack with 18 different players who tallied at least one point, while 14 players recorded at least one goal. Junior attacker Max Mallett (Alexandria, Va.) tallied personal bests posting six points with four goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Topher Bower (Chicago, Ill.) recorded four assists and added a ground ball. Sophomore midfielder Bennett Smith (Lake Oswego, Ore.) tied a career-high four points with one goal, three assists, and scooped up a ground ball. Graduate student attackman Jared Rainville (Watertown, Conn.) added two goals and an assist, while first-year attacker Camden Matthews (Westford, Mass.) also scored a pair of goals. Senior midfielder Connor Karsh (Glenview, Ill.) recorded a season-high two goals. First-year attacker Rowan Mondello (Wakefield, Mass.) posted a career-high two points with one goal and one assist to go along with a ground ball. Junior goalkeeper Alex Fascilla (Huntington, N.Y) stopped 11 shots in net.
The Lyons started the game with a quick 1-0 lead when junior midfielder Jack Board (Westborough, Mass.) received a pass from Goodrich and netted a goal to put Wheaton on top in the first 43 seconds. The strong start by the Lyons continued over a minute later as Reid scored his first of three goals to give Wheaton a 2-0 lead with 12:56 on the clock in the first quarter. The Beavers then answered back, scoring the next eight goals of the period, which included a pair of goals by Mallett, to give the Beavers an 8-2 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
During the second quarter, Babson's scoring run continued, as the Beavers added five straight goals within the first portion of the second quarter, to stretch their lead to 13-2 with 7:26 remaining in the quarter. Reid stopped a 13-0 scoring run by the Beavers, when he netted his second goal of the game in transition on a fast break to put the score 13-3 with 5:45 on the timer. Babson added back-to-back goals by Rainville and Feeks to push their lead to 15-3 at halftime.
After 18 combined goals in the first half, the defenses started to take over in the second half. The Beavers stretched their lead to 14 goals when Matthews and junior midfielder Matt Park (Waltham, Mass.) scored the first two goals of the third quarter to give Babson a 17-3 lead. The Lyons stopped a 4-0 scoring run by the Beavers, when Goodrich connected on a pass from behind the net to first-year attackman Theo Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) to make the score 17-4 with 4:35 remaining in the quarter.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first seven-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, until sophomore midfielder Karter Noyes (Manchester Center, Vt.) put the Lyons on the board when he found the back of the net with 7:42 remaining in regulation. The Beavers then answered with three straight goals within a 1:30 span to give Babson their largest lead of the game at 20-5 with 1:31 remaining in the match. Reid closed out the contest by adding the final goal with 21 seconds left.
Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, April 6 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Salve Regina University at Nordin Field at 4:00 p.m., while the Beavers host the University of Massachusetts Boston on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
