NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team was boosted by four goals from senior Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.), while junior goalie Evan Borchert (Littleton, Colo.) allowed just one goal in a 10-2 victory over Emerson College, 10-2, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon on Nordin Field. 

Wheaton improves to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the NEWMAC with the win and also ups its home mark to 6-1. Emerson drops to 3-7 overall and 0-2 within the NEWMAC with the loss.

Edwards led the way for the Wheaton offense with a game-high mark of four goals. Borchert stopped 11 of 12 shots in 56:58 of action. Junior attackman Theo Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) scored twice and added an assist for a three-point day. Juniors Henry Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.), Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.), Connor Davine (Taunton, Mass.) and senior Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn.) all scored a goal to round out a deep offensive performance for the Lyons. Junior Chris Bodnaruk (Andover, Mass.) won nine out of 15 face-off tries.

First year Jett McCullough (Los Angeles, Calif.) and fellow first year Nathan Stanczak (Rancho Palos Verde, Calif.) were the only goalscorers for Emerson. Senior Ethan Corby (Whitby, Ontario) made 14 saves during a busy game in the crease. 

It took the Lyons only 47 seconds to get started in Saturday's game as Goodrich scored an unassisted goal after Bodnaruk won the opening face-off. Goodrich struck the post soon after the opening goal as the Lyons kept the pressure on the Lions. Davine would convert the next scoring chance for Wheaton, putting them ahead 2-0 with 10 minutes to go in the first quarter. A slashing penalty on Emerson gave Wheaton an extra attacker, and they converted the man-up opportunity with an Edwards' goal. McCullough scored his only goal of the game, soon after, putting the Lions on the board. Paturzo wiped away the effort a minute later with a goal of his own, and Edwards added his second man-up goal before the break to make it 5-1 after the first. 

Emerson's defense came out for the second with a resurgent attention to detail. The Lions limited the Lyons' chances and forced them into low-percentage shooting areas. The result was five straight saves for Corby as the visitors kept the score where it was for the first 12 minutes of the second frame. Theo Stamatel finally broke through the deadlock with his first goal of the game. With less than two minutes before halftime, no further changes were made to the scoreline. 

The Lyons picked up the pace once again in the third. Theo Stamatel scored his second goal of the game just four minutes into the second half, setting up his brother Henry to score just a minute later. The twin-tandem of goals kept the Lyons well ahead of their visitors, who were struggling to keep pace with the Wheaton side. Edwards made it three goals in three quarters when Theo Stamatel found him open in the middle with two and a half minutes left in the third, giving Wheaton a 9-1 lead heading into the final break. 

Wheaton forced three saves out of Corby and hit the post twice to open the fourth quarter. Emerson held the Lyons scoreless for almost half of the frame before Edwards buried his fourth goal of the day. Emerson managed to scrape together one last goal with nine seconds to play, but it was far too late and too little to get the comeback started. Wheaton cruised to a 10-2 win over Emerson for its first win in the NEWMAC.

The Lyons will stay in the conference for the remainder of the regular season. Their next time out will be in Worcester, Mass. on March 28th at Clark University with a 1:00 pm face off. Emerson takes on United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. on the 28th, facing off with the Bears at 3:00 p.m.