BRISTOL, R.I. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team's comeback fell short in an 11-9 defeat this afternoon to host Roger Williams University at Bayside Field in Bristol, R.I.
The Lyons fall to 3-3 on the season, while the Hawks improve to 5-2.
The Wheaton defense held Roger Williams without a goal for a span of 19:28, including all of the third quarter, but the Hawks came alive when it counted, scoring the only two markers of the fourth quarter to spell the difference in the match.
Roger Williams controlled possession for the game with a 51-32 shot advantage, while owning a 27-17 ground ball margin. The Hawks were able to move the ball up and down the field unimpeded, converting 23 of 24 clear opportunities. Roger Williams was plagued by penalties, but Wheaton was unable to take advantage, going 0-8 in man-up situations.
Sophomore attacker Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) tallied a game-high six goals, added a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover to lead the Lyons. Junior midfielder Charlie Racine (Oradell, N.J.) and junior attacker Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn.) each scored a goal and added an assist. Racine also added two ground balls and won three of five face-offs to go with a pair of caused turnovers. Junior goalie Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) stopped 14 shots for Wheaton.
Graduate student attackman Kevin Murphy (Ramsey, N.J.) and senior attackman Matt Hemmert (Braintree, Mass.) each netted four goals to lead the Hawks. In addition, Murphy picked up three ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers. Senior attackman Matt Halpin (Hanover, Mass.) tallied four points, including a game-high three assists and added a ground ball and a caused turnover. Sophomore goalie Aaron D'Aversa (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) turned away nine shots.
First year midfielder Eric Brooks (Milford, Mass.) took a feed from junior midfielder Jack Kester (Londonderry, N.H.) and scored the final goal of the first half with 2:43 left in the second quarter to give Roger Williams its largest lead at 9-5.
The Lyons' defense took over, holding the Hawks without a score in the third quarter, while Edwards opened the third quarter with a pair of goals in a span of five minutes to cut the margin to 9-7 with 8:35 showing in the third quarter. Goodrich and Racine netted back-to-back markers, including the game-tying score from Racine with 3:56 to go in the quarter. It was the last goal of the day for Wheaton, despite three man-up opportunities in the fourth quarter.
Halpin broke the home team's scoring drought with a goal coming 105 seconds into the fourth quarter to reclaim the lead for Roger Williams at 10-9. Hemmert added an insurance goal with just 25 ticks left on the fourth quarter clock before the final horn ended the match.
The Hawks scored three of the first four goals to open the match, including two from Hemmert to take a 3-1 margin with 6:09 to play in the opening period. The Lyons returned the favor with three of the next four goals, including two from Edwards and the game-tying score from senior attackman Jack Hutchings (Billerica, Mass.) on a feed from first year attackman Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) at 10:20 of the second quarter to make it 4-4.
Roger Williams put together a 5-1 run, fueled by three goals from Murphy, to take a 9-5 advantage with 2:43 remaining in the quarter.
Wheaton returns to action on Tuesday, March 12 when it heads to Buzzards Bay, Mass. to take on Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 7:00 p.m., while the Hawks play Kean University on March 13 at 12:00 p.m. in Newark, De.
