NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team was defeated by visiting Springfield College, 15-12, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play on at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons finish their season at 7-8 overall and 1-6 in league play, while the Pride improve to 9-6 and a perfect 7-0 in the regular-season finale.

Springfield is the number one seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will take on the winner of fourth-seeded Salve Regina University and number five seed United States Coast Guard Academy on Thursday, May 1 in the NEWMAC Semifinals.

Wheaton recognized its seniors prior to the match in their last career match. The Lyons paid tribute to Brendan Wojnarowicz (Rutland, Mass.), Charlie Racine (Oradell, N.J.), Mike McLaughlin (Stoughton, Mass.), Ethan Upham (Brunswick, Maine), John Drew (North Andover, Mass.), Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) and Jack Board (Westborough, Mass.).

The Pride held a 49-31 shot advantage and won 22 of 30 faceoffs to help them control possession.

Springfield outscored Wheaton, 6-2, in what proved to be a pivotal second quarter with both teams matching each other in the third and fourth periods.

Sophomore attacker Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) netted four goals to go with a ground ball for Wheaton, while Board recorded four points, including three goals. McLaughlin tallied three goals and added a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover. Junior defender Pason Fielding (Carlisle, Mass.) led the home team's defensive effort with five ground balls and a game-high five caused turnovers. Almstrom stopped 14 of 29 shots in 56:46 of play, while Drew was untested in the final 3:14 of action.

Graduate student midfielder Mason Nocito (Mahopac, N.Y.) matched a career high with five goals to lead Springfield. Nocito added two ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore attackmen Bryan Stensrud (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) and Jake Degnan (Mahopac, N.Y.) and graduate student attacker Kevin Tierney (Glastonbury, Conn.) each tallied five points with three goals and two assists. Stensrud added a pair of ground balls, while Degnan came up with two ground balls and caused a turnover. Tierney picked up four ground balls. Graduate student long-stick midfielder Gavin Carzello (Westfield, Mass.) led all players with 11 ground balls in addition to causing a turnover, while senior Vincent Scialdone (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) won 21 of 28 face-offs. Senior goalie Kaden Quirk (Nahant, Mass.) made eight saves for Springfield.

Junior attackman Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn.) scored on a feed from sophomore attacker Theo Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) to pull the Lyons within 12-11 with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter. It was as close as Wheaton would get for the remainder of the contest. Springfield scored three of the final four goals, including Nocito's fifth marker of the day and 11th of the season at the 5:25 mark to give the Pride a 15-11 advantage to match their largest lead of the afternoon. McLaughlin netted the final goal of the game with 1:54 showing on the fourth quarter clock to give the Lyons a dozen scores for the day.

Paturzo scored his second goal of the opening quarter to give Wheaton a 4-3 edge with 2:03 to play in the period. 

Springfield scored the first four markers of the second quarter, capped by a goal from Tierney to give the visitors a 7-4 margin with 5:58 left in the period. McLaughlin broke up the scoring string with a goal for the Lyons just 48 seconds later to cut the deficit to 7-5. Stensrud and Nocito scored back-to-back goals in a span of 46 seconds to increase the Pride's cushion to 9-5, before McLaughlin scored again with the final goal of the half to make it 9-6 before the teams broke for the intermission.

Paturzo found the back of the net twice to begin the third quarter and pull Wheaton within a goal at 9-8 with 8:49 remaining in the period. Springfield closed the quarter with the final two goals and Degnan netted the first marker of the fourth quarter to bump the Pride advantage to 12-8 with 13:20 to play in the period. 

Board scored consecutive goals in a matter of 50 seconds, before Goodrich's marker made it a one-goal game again at 12-11.