Wheaton College (MA)

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's lacrosse team stayed even with the United States Coast Guard Academy through three quarters of Saturday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference game, but the Bears came out on top with a three-goal fourth quarter to top the Lyons 10-8 in New London as both teams ended their regular season.

Wheaton's season comes to an end with a 9-6 overall record, including 2-5 in the NEWMAC, while Coast Guard improved to 4-9 overall and 3-4 in the NEWMAC with the win. The Bears earn the fifth seed in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will travel to Newport, R.I. to take on fourth-seeded Salve Regina University on April 28.

Junior Theo Stamatel (Plainville, Mass.) led the Lyons offense with four points on three goals and one assist to finish the season with 52 points for the highest single-season at Wheaton since Will Morrison '17 tallied 66 points in 2015.  Junior Evan Paturzo (Bellingham, Mass.) was the only other Lyon with multiple goals as he potted two and assisted another. Senior Emmett Edwards (Sunderland, Vt.) had a goal and two assists to match Paturzo's point total while fellow seniors Karter Noyes (Manchester Central, Vt.) and Charlie Goodrich (Fairfield, Conn.) both added goals. Stamatel (52), Paturzo (50), Edwards (49) and Goodrich (45) become the first Lyon quartet to tally 45 or more points in one season at Wheaton since 1996 when Adam Norris '97 had 71 points, Jonathan Chapman '97 had 65, Adam Wadel '98 registered 49 points and Joshua Pierce '99 racked up 46 points. Edwards closes out his career with 159 points on 118 goals and 41 assists to rank seventh all-time for the Lyons in goals and 10th in lifetime points. Goodrich finishes with 57 career assists in just three seasons at Wheaton and stands seventh for the Lyons. Junior Chris Bodnaruk (xx) finished the season with 135 face-offs won for the eighth-highest total in a season at Wheaton and now has 384 wins in his career to place fourth. Junior Evan Borchert (Littleton, Colo.) had 13 saves on 23 shots faced in the crease during a game that saw both defenses tested to the maximum and finished the season with 199 saves and a .601 save percentage to rank eighth for a season in program history in both categories.

Junior Eric Key (Clarksville, Md.) paced the Bears offense with three goals and an assist, while junior Davis Lee (Newport, R.I.) had a hat-trick of goals as well. Senior Patrick Smith (Leesburg, Va.) and junior Noah Heller (Baltimore, Md.) both had a goal and an assist. First year Liam Miller (Radnor, Pa.) and junior Jack Elgas (San Diego, Calif.) both added goals to round out the scoring for Coast Guard. 

Coast Guard jumped ahead early with two goals in 14 seconds after winning the initial face-off. Wheaton put a shot on goal in their first possession, but Key scored his first to make it 3-0 before the game reached the five minute mark. Lee scored the fourth goal for the hosts just before the halfway mark in the first quarter before Stamatel finally put the Lyons on the board with four minutes to go. Paturzo got the second goal for Wheaton with 72 seconds left to play in the frame, and Stamatel found Noyes with one second on the clock to bring the Lyons within a goal of the Bears at the break. 

Edwards found Stamatel on a cut to tie the game two minutes into the second quarter, but Lee answered with a man-up goal to keep the hosts in front. Lee scored again to make it 6-4 for Coast Guard, before Stamatel scored his third goal of the half to make it 6-5 with less than five minutes to go before halftime. Edwards tied it with three minutes left to play in the half, sending both teams into the break with six goals. 

Goodrich scored on a beautiful high-to-low shot from distance to give Wheaton its first lead of the day. The third quarter was back and forth, with neither team able to generate sustained offense. Key scored again in the final minute of the quarter to tie the game at 7-7 as the decisive fourth quarter followed.

The Bears poured the pressure on Wheaton in the fourth as they scored on their first possession to take an 8-7 lead. Key extended their lead with another goal just over a minute later, and the Lyons were unable to score on their following possession. Heller put the Bears ahead by three with a man-up goal down the stretch, but Paturzo answered with a man-up goal of his own to keep the Lyons in the fight. The Lyons did not score again, however, and fell to the Bears 10-8 in their final game of the season.