BOSTON, Mass. — Sophomore attackman Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) and junior attacker Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) each netted four goals to power the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team to a 16-7 victory over host Emerson College to open the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference slate this afternoon at Rotch Field in Boston, Mass.
The Lyons win their fourth straight game to improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in conference action, while the Lions fall to 2-6 and 0-1.
Wheaton dominated possession with a 50-29 shot advantage in the match.
Paturzo added an assist, while Edwards assisted on a pair of goals, picked up five ground balls and caused a turnover for the Lyons. Senior midfielder Mike McLaughlin (Stoughton, Mass.) netted three goals to go with a ground ball and a caused turnover and senior midfielder Charlie Racine (Oradell, N.J.) chipped in with a pair of goals, four ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore face-off specialist Chris Bodnaruk (Andover, Mass.) won 14 of 26 draws for Wheaton and scooped up four ground balls. Senior goalie Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) stopped 10 of 17 shots in 55:54 of action, before yielding to classmate John Drew (North Andover, Mass.), who turned away both shots he faced in the final 4:06 of play.
Senior attackman Benson Offit (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) led Emerson with three goals and an assist in addition to a ground ball, while senior attacker Jack Burns (Clarksville, Md.) netted three goals and added a pair of ground balls. Junior defender John Marcone (Oakland, Calif.) paced the defense with four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Senior goalie Elijah Turbow (Valley Village, Calif.) stopped four of 12 shots in the first 21:50 of play, before junior Ethan Corby (Whitby, Ont.) closed out the final 38:10 of play by denying nine of 17 shots.
Edwards scored all three of Wheaton's goals to open the match with a 3-1 lead in the first nine minutes of play, while Offit scored at 8:34 to tie the match at 1-1. Burns scored with 2:11 left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 3-2 for the home team, but it was as close as the Lions would get for the rest of the contest.
Wheaton ripped off seven straight markers over the next 10 minutes to jump out to a formidable 10-2 advantage with 7:18 remaining in the opening half. Racine and Paturzo each netted a pair of goals during the game-defining stretch for the Lyons.
Emerson scored the final two goals of the second quarter and struck first in the second half to pull within 10-5 at the 13:43 mark of the third quarter. Burns and Offit both scored to end the half, before senior midfielder Grant Wilson (Los Angeles, Calif.) made it a five-goal game for the Lions in the third.
Sophomore midfielder Will Durkee (Oakland, Maine) and Paturzo scored the next two goals in a span of 30 seconds to increase Wheaton's cushion to 12-5 with 10:39 to play in the period. Emerson responded with two goals of its own, courtesy of Offit and Burns to close within 12-7 with 5:39 showing in the third quarter. It was the last display of offense for the Lions for the rest of the contest.
The Lyons continued a trend that has played out many times during the season, by shutting out Emerson for the final 20:39 of play. Wheaton tallied all four goals of the fourth quarter, including three from McLaughlin, to put the game away for the visitors.
The Lyons return to play on Saturday, March 22 when they host NEWMAC rival United States Coast Guard Academy on Nordin Field at 1:00 p.m., while the Lions head to Springfield, Mass. on the same day for a 4:00 p.m. match with conference foe Springfield College.
