NORTON, Mass. -- Nine different Lyons of the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team scored a goal as Wheaton downed Emerson College with a 14-8 win in Wednesday evening's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference game on Nordin Field.

Wheaton improved to 10-3 overall and 5-2 in the NEWMAC following the win, marking the best start to a season under head coach Emily Kiablick and best start for the program since the 2005 season (10-3 through first 13 games). Emerson fell to 4-9 overall and 0-6 in the NEWMAC after the loss.

Wheaton lost the opening draw, but immediately wrestled possession away from the Lions to kick start the offense. It took just 63 seconds for Wheaton to get on the board thanks to senior Jessica Chamberlin's (Bow, N.H.) 38th goal of the season. 48 seconds later, senior Sara Spielman (Norwalk, Conn.) scored to make it 2-0 for Wheaton in the blink of an eye.

Five minutes into the contest, Wheaton scored again. This time it was junior Georgia Qua (Suffield, Conn.) who scored her 38th goal of the season in an unconventional manner. Qua put on her best hockey player impression as she swept the ball from the turf into the back of the net without picking it up. 90 seconds later, Wheaton made it 4-0. Sophomore Claudia Shoemaker (Woodstock, Vt.) scored her ninth goal of the season to set up another goal from sophomore Saige Winslow (Waterford, Maine) just over a minute later. Sophomore Emma-Jane Parsons (Oakland, Maine) joined in on the fun with a goal just before Qua potted her second score of the night. The Lyons roared to a 7-0 lead, but Emerson scored just before the break to break the shutout. 

The late score provided a much-needed spark for Emerson as they scored just 14 seconds into the second frame. The momentum stayed with the visiting Lions throughout the frame as they outscored Wheaton 5-3. The halftime score was much tighter than initially expected following the first as Wheaton led by 10-6 following goals from Chamberlin, senior Natalie Bilodeau (Scarborough, Maine) and first year Kaydie O'Neil (Sturbridge, Mass.).

Halftime gave Wheaton time to reset after the Emerson flurry, and the emerged for the second half with a cohesion and composure that was more refined when compared with the first half. O'Neil started the scoring with a goal three minutes into the half, which Parsons followed up on two minutes later. With a 12-6 lead in hand, Emerson needed another spark. They found one in senior Holland Rutter (Pingree Grove, Ill.) who scored with less than two minutes to go in the quarter to make it 12-7. Wheaton's defense held on for the remainder of the quarter to win back some of the momentum from their opponents. 

Emerson struck first in the fourth quarter, but goals from O'Neil and first year Lucy Knof (Cologne, Germany) helped wipe away the opposing Lions' effort. Wheaton held on to win 14-8 behind a deep offensive performance. 

Wheaton will return to the field on Sunday, April 12 as it hosts United States Coast Guard Academy in their penultimate home game at noon. Emerson will take on Babson on April 11 at noon in Babson Park, Mass.