NORTON, Mass. — Junior attackman Theo Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) netted a career-high six goals to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team to a 17-7 victory over visiting University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) this afternoon at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 4-0 on the season, while the Blue Jays fall to 2-1.

Wheaton nearly doubled up on its guests in shots with a 55-28 advantage, while USJ committed double the amount of turnovers with 20 to the Lyons' count of 10. Wheaton was 14-15 in clears, while the Blue Jays were held to 13 of 21 in clear attempts. The Lyons also won 19 of 28 faceoffs.

Stamatel added four ground balls and a caused turnover for Wheaton, while junior midfielder Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) tallied six points, including a trio of goals and added a pair of ground balls. Junior midfielder Will Durkee (Oakland, Maine) scored a a pair of goals in addition to an assist and a ground ball. Junior defender Henry Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) paced the defense with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, while junior face-off specialist Chris Bodnaruk (Andover, Mass.) won 15 of 20 face-offs and picked up six ground balls. Junior goalie Evan Borchert (Littleton, Colo.) stopped five of nine shots in the first 45 minutes of play, before first year netminder Cole Wilson (Barrington, R.I.) turned back two of five shots in 13:09 of action. First year goalie Silas Vega (East Brunswick, N.J.) did not face a shot in the final 1:51 of play.

First year attacker Landon Lapointe (Lutz, Fla.) and first year midfielder Henry Pennell (Bellows Falls, Vt.) each scored twice for the Blue Jays. First year midfielder Brady Stevens (Laconia, N.H.) netted a goal, picked up a ground ball and caused a turnover for Saint Joseph. Junior starting goalie Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) turned back 17 of 31 shots in 48:17 of action, while first year keeper Will Keegan (West Harford, Conn.) stopped one of two shots in 8:48 of play. First year goalie Jase Cronin (Rockland, Mass.) surrendered a pair of markers in the final three minutes of the game. 

The Lyons scored the first four goals of the game as part of a 9-1 start, behind two goals each from Durkee, Stamatel, Paturzo and senior attacker Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.). Lapointe notched his second goal of the afternoon to close the first half scoring and pull Saint Joseph within 9-2 before the intermission.

Stamatel tallied the first three goals of the third quarter to increase Wheaton's advantage to 12-2 with 9:56 to play in the period. The Blue Jays scored four of the next six goals over the next 15 minutes to cut the margin to 14-6 with 9:19 showing on the fourth quarter clock. The Lyons closed the match with three of the final four goals, including first collegiate markers from sophomore attackman Colin Willoe (North Andover, Mass.) and first year attackman Jack Marro (North Haven, Conn.).

Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, March 4 when it heads to Biddeford, Maine to take on University of New England for a 4:00 p.m. start, while USJ hosts Eastern Connecticut State University on March 3 at 4:00 p.m.