LEWISTON, Maine – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team was defeated by host Bates College, 22-8, this evening at Russell Street Field in Lewiston, Maine.
The Lyons dip to 6-3 on the season, while the Bobcats improve to 7-2.
Bates dominated possession for the majority of the match, out-shooting Wheaton, 54-29, while owning a healthy 58-29 advantage in ground balls.
Sophomore attackman Theo Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) netted a pair of goals and added an assist and four ground balls for the Lyons, while senior midfielder Jack Board (Westborough, Mass.) tallied a goal to go with a pair of assists and three ground balls. Sophomore attack Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) notched two points with a goal and an assist. Sophomore defender Henry Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) picked up four ground balls and caused a turnover. Senior goalie Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) stopped 14 of 30 shots in the first 45 minutes of play, while sophomore keeper Evan Borchert (Denver, Colo.) allowed a pair of goals in 5:24 and senior John Drew (North Andover, Mass.) gave up four goals in 9:36 of action.
Sophomore midfielder Riley McClure (Georgetown, Mass.) led all scorers with five goals and an assist to go with a pair of ground balls for the Bobcats. First year attacker Jack Goldbach (West Caldwell, N.J.) racked up six points, including three goals, while sophomore attackman Jack Markert (Centreville, Va.) netted three goals and added a ground ball. Sophomore Miles Schmidt (Seattle, Wash.) was dominant on the draw for the home team, winning 15 of 20 face-offs and picking up 10 ground balls. Sophomore long-stick midfielder Drew McClutchy (Farmington, Conn.) led the defense with three caused turnovers in addition to a pair of ground balls. Sophomore goalie Andrew Toland (Hingham, Mass.) denied five of 12 shots in 47:56 of play, while junior Drew Nyhus (Lake Oswego, Ore.) made two saves in 7:19 of action and senior Luke Heafey (San Francisco, Calif.) stopped one of two shots in 4:45.
Bates scored 10 of the first 12 goals of the game over the opening 26 minutes to take a 10-2 advantage. McClure netted three goals during the opening stretch, including the final two of the run to give the home team a 10-goal lead with 4:12 left in the second quarter. Theo Stamatel put Wheaton on the board at the 10:04 mark of the first quarter to cut the deficit in half at 2-1, before senior midfielder Mike McLaughlin's (Stoughton, Mass.) marker at 12:10 of the second period pulled the Lyons within 6-2.
Wheaton sophomore attacker Mitch Tepedino (Southbury, Conn.) traded goals with Bobcat sophomore attackman Gray Doyle (Summit, N.J.) prior to the end of the first half to send the teams to the intermission with Bates owning an 11-3 lead.
The Lyons scored three of the first four goals of the third quarter, including a marker from senior midfielder Charlie Racine (Oradell, N.J.) to cut the margin to 12-6 with 7:59 to play in the period. The Bobcats tallied four of the final five goals of the quarter to increase their advantage to 16-7. McClure scored twice to lead the offensive charge for Bates. Junior attackman Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) scored during the stretch for Wheaton.
The Bobcats opened the final quarter with five straight goals, paced by two from Markert, to give them seven straight and a 21-7 cushion. The Lyons netted their final goal when Theo Stamatel connected with the back of the net with 4:02 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Markert scored the final goal of the night for Bates at 3:18.
Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, March 29 when it travels to Babson Park, Mass. to take on No. 18 Babson College in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at 12:00 p.m. while the Bobcats head to Hartford, Conn. to play Trinity College on the same day at 1:00 p.m.
