NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team was defeated by visiting Clark University (Mass.), 15-8, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at cold and wet Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 6-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play, while the Cougars improve to 8-5 and 1-4.
The Clark offense was unrelenting, doubling up on Wheaton with a 54-27 shot advantage, while winning 18 of 25 face-offs. The Cougars registered a 34-27 ground ball margin as well.
Clark scored seven of the first eight goals of the match and never looked back, leading by as many as nine goals during the contest.
Junior attacker Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) led the Lyons' offense with three goals, while junior attacker Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn.) netted a goal and added an assist to go with a ground ball and a turnover. Junior defender Pason Fielding (Carlisle, Mass.) contributed with five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Senior keeper Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) turned away 19 shots for Wheaton.
Graduate student Matthew Minkwitz (Norfolk, Mass.) tallied eight points, including seven goals, to lead Clark. He added a ground ball to his day for the Cougars. Senior attacker Matt Wells (Rutland, Mass.) contributed with two goals, an assist and a ground ball, while senior attacker Alex D'Entrone (Ridgefield, Conn.) collected three points, including a pair of assists to go with a caused turnover. Graduate student Jacob Wharton (Worcester, Mass.) helped the defense with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. First year face-off specialist Spencer Arzanipour (Glen Head, N.Y.) won seven of eight draws and picked up three ground balls. Graduate student goalie Casey McCullough (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) stopped nine shots for Clark.
Edwards netted the first marker of the day at the 10:52 mark of the opening quarter to give the Lyons a 1-0 edge, but the Cougars countered with seven straight goals to take a 7-1 lead early into the second period. D'Entrone matched Edwards' first goal just 31 seconds later and sophomore attackman Eric Aswad (Needham, Mass.) and Minkwitz each scored twice during the visitors' opening scoring string. Graduate student midfielder Patrick Liddy (Sutton, Mass.) tallied Clark's seventh goal with 10:48 to play in the second quarter.
Goodrich and Edwards netted back-to-back goals to pull Wheaton within 7-3 with 5:45 to go in the second quarter. Minkwitz scored a man-up marker before the end of the half to give the Cougars an 8-3 halftime lead.
Minkwitz traded a pair of goals with sophomore midfielder Will Durkee (Oakland, Maine) for the Lyons and Wheaton first year Zach Wyborney (Amherst, N.H.), who found the back of the net for his first collegiate score. Minkwitz' second goal to answer Wyborney sparked three more markers from Clark, including a pair by Wells to end the quarter and give the Cougars a 14-5 advantage after three quarters of action.
Wheaton tallied the first three goals of the fourth quarter, getting scores from senior midfielder Mike McLaughlin (Stoughton, Mass.), sophomore attacker Mitch Tepedino (Southbury, Conn.) and Edwards to cut the margin to 14-8 with 2:40 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Minkwitz netted his seventh goal of the day with 37 ticks left in the contest for Clark.
The Lyons return to play on Tuesday, April 15 when they host Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Nordin Field at 7:00 p.m., while the Cougars are back at it on April 19 when they travel to Babson Park, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Babson College at 4:00 p.m.
