ERIE, Pa. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team closed out the Erie Invite with its fourth match of the weekend, a 27-9 loss to Mercyhurst University this afternoon at Erie Prep Center in Erie, Pa.

The Lyons fall to 0-6 on the season, while the Lakers improve to 3-7.

First year utility player Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) led all players with five goals and added an assist and six steals for Wheaton. First year 2-meter Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.) netted a pair of markers in addition to a steal, while first year attacker Tristan Harrington (Mason, Ohio) scored a goal, notched an assist and added a steal. First year 2-meter defender Jack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.) dished out three assists and came up with a trio of steals. First year keeper Dylan Boccali (Ventura, Calif.) stopped six shots and recorded a pair of thefts. 

Mercyhurst boasted six players with three or more goals, including first year attacker Alessio Sampedro (Barcelona, Spain) and first year center Caden Stover (Napoleon, Ohio) with four apiece. Sophomore center Asher Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa.), junior attacker Owen Hardner (Erie, Pa.), first year attacker Joshua Wormley (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore attacker Ben Gavran (Pittsburgh, Pa.) all netted three goals for the Lakers. 

Mercyhurst tallied the first two markers of the contest, before Rapsomanikis found the back of the net with 2:12 to go in the first quarter to cut the deficit in half for the Lyons. The teams traded goals, including the first collegiate goal from Wheaton senior utility player Hugh Gregg (Portsmouth, N.H.) to keep it a one-goal affair at 3-2 with 24 ticks left in the quarter. 

The Lakers scored 11 of the next 12 goals to effectively put the game out of reach at 14-3 with 7:41 to go in the third period. Hardner, Stover and Gavran each tallied a pair of goals during the stretch for Mercyhurst. Ruemelin found the back of the net at the 7:29 mark of the quarter to pull the Lyons to within 14-4, but the Lakers scored four of the next five goals to increase their advantage to 18-5 with 5:08 remaining in the quarter. 

Rapsomanikis made it 18-6 for Wheaton at 4:52 in the third period, prior to one last big run for Mercyhurst. The Lakers put together a 6-1 stretch to push their cushion to 24-7 with 6:15 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Rapsomanikis continued his offensive roll for the Lyons, scoring with 5:58 remaining in the game to pull Wheaton within 24-8. Mercyhurst scored the next three goals, including a pair from first year defender Petar Vujovic, to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 27-8. Rapsomanikis capped the scoring with his fifth goal for the Lyons coming with just nine ticks left on the clock.

Wheaton returns to the water on Saturday, October 12 when it travels to Washington, Pa. to take on Washington & Jefferson College at 2:00 p.m., while the Lakers head to New York City, N.Y. to play Fordham University at 6:00 p.m.