NORTON, Mass. — Junior attackman Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) (4-2-6) and classmate Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn.) (3-3-6) combined for seven goals and five assists to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team to a 16-5 victory over visiting Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) this afternoon on a chilly Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Wildcats dip to 0-1 in their season opener.
Wheaton peppered Johnson & Wales with shots throughout the afternoon, owning a dominant 61-31 shot advantage, including a 36-15 margin in shots on net. The Lyons dominated possession with a 44-21 margin in ground balls and was 15 of 16 in clear attempts.
Edwards added a pair of ground balls, while Goodrich also picked up a ground ball for Wheaton. Senior midfielder Mike McLaughlin (Stoughton, Mass.) netted a trio of goals to go with a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover, while junior midfielder Karter Noyes (Manchester Center, Vt.) and sophomore attacker Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) each contributed with two goals each. Sophomore Chris Bodnaruk (Andover, Mass.) dominated the X for the Lyons, winning 16 of 21 face-offs, while picking up a pair of ground balls and sophomore attacker Mitch Tepedino (Southbury, Conn.) collected six ground balls. Senior goalie Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) turned away five of nine shots in the first 52:08 of play, before yielding to classmate John Drew (North Andover, Mass.), who stopped five of six shots in the final 7:52 of play.
Sophomore midfielder Jack Donnelly (Reading, Mass.) led JWU with two goals and seven assists and first year midfielder Jacob Tresser (Marlborough, Mass.) netted the first two goals of his career. First year middie Greyson Doyle (Holden, Mass.) also notched his first collegiate marker. First year goalie Andrew Sforza (Fairfield, Conn.) made 19 saves in his collegiate debut in 50:09 of action, before giving way to sophomore goalie Cameron Courchesne (Agawam, Mass.), who turned away one of three shots in 9:51.
Wheaton did not allow a goal in the opening quarter of play, while Paturzo and Goodrich supplied the offense with a pair of goals apiece to give the Lyons a 4-0 lead.
Donnelly put the Wildcats on the board midway through the second quarter at the 8:47 mark, before McLaughlin matched him for Wheaton just 35 seconds later to make it 5-1 for the home team. Johnson and & Wales scored three of the next four goals, including a pair of player advantage scores from Tresser to pull the Wildcats within 6-4 with 2:41 to play in the second quarter.
The Lyons netted a pair of goals in the final 56 seconds of the quarter, including the first collegiate goal from junior defender Pason Fielding (Carlisle, Mass.), to give Wheaton an 8-4 lead going into the intermission.
The Lyons controlled the rest of the contest, scoring 10 unanswered goals, including all five scores of the third quarter. Noyes, McLaughlin and Edwards each scored two goals in the second half for Wheaton. Junior attackman Hunter Pelletier (Gorham, Maine) capped the day's scoring for the Lyons to give them a 16-4 cushion with 2:56 remaining in the contest.
Donnelly ended a scoring drought of 30:23 for JWU with the final marker of the day coming with 2:18 showing on the fourth quarter clock.
Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, February 26 when it travels to Nashua, N.H. to take on Rivier University at 5:00 p.m., while the Wildcats host Gordon College on the same day at 4:00 p.m.
