Wheaton Uses Big Run to Rush Past Becker in Opening Round , 24-4
NORTON, MA--- Eleven different players scored
for the second-seeded Wheaton College men's lacrosse team on
Wednesday, as the Lyons overcame an early deficit with 19 straight
goals during a 24-4 victory over number-seven Becker College in the
first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)
Tournament in Mirrione Stadium. Now 8-7, Wheaton will take on
third-seeded New England College in the semifinals at Endicott
College on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The Hawks ended the year at 9-4.
Freshman Billy McNamara (Mansfield, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) put the Lyons on the board after 1:51 in the opening quarter, but the Hawks responded by taking a 2-1 edge at the 8:50 mark. After McNamara knotted the contest with 5:16 left, Becker freshman Joe Nessen (Levittown, PA/Harry S Truman) scored 13 seconds later for his second goal of the period.
From that point, Wheaton rattled off a game-ending 22-1 run, including scoring 19 consecutive markers while blanking the visitors for a 31:10 stretch. The Lyons scored 13 goals in the second quarter, with McNamara tying the game just nine ticks in. In a 56-second burst that ended at 11:23, the hosts used a quick 3-0 run to go on top for good, with sophomore Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) netting a pair eight seconds apart in that time. Three more Wheaton goals later went on the board during a 48-second span, with McNamara tallying the final two in 25 ticks to make the score 9-3 by 9:04. The Lyons held a 15-3 advantage at halftime.
Wheaton tallied the initial six goals of the third period, with six different players scoring, before Nessen fed junior Josh Fask (Worcester, MA/Doherty) at 3:52 to break Becker's scoreless streak. The hosts netted the final three markers of the game, including two in a 1:05 span of the fourth quarter.
McNamara finished with six goals and three assists, doing all of his damage in the first half. Cederberg added four markers and three helpers, and sophomore Chris Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor Academy) turned in a hat trick, as the pair joined McNamara in appearing only on man-up opportunities during the second half.
Freshman Mike Harrington (Sturbridge, MA/Bancroft School) totaled three goals and two assists, while sophomore Corey Best (Brentwood, TN/Ravenwood) had a pair of markers and one assist. Junior Drew Schaffer (New Haven, CT/Loomis Chaffee School) collected two helpers, and classmate Schuyler Horn (New Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) made two saves in earning the victory.
Also for Wheaton, junior Warren Garceau (Guilford, CT/Canterbury School), sophomore Peter Buongiorno (Pittsburgh, PA/Winchester Thurston School) and freshman David Schroeder (Nashua, NH/Nashua North) had a goal and an assist apiece, with Buongiorno netting his first collegiate tally. Senior Chris Gogan-Tilstone (Amherst, NH/Souhegan), junior Andrew Brunhofer (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and freshman Conor Finn (Kennebunk, ME/Kennebunk) each scored once.
Nessen collected two goals and an assist to lead Becker, while Fask and freshman Alec Abrahamson (Dedham, MA/Dedham) both tallied. Senior Peter Fellows (Boylston, MA/O'Neill) made 13 stops during a complete-game effort between the pipes.
