Box Score NORTON, Mass. – After trailing by eight goals through the first two quarters, lacrosse nearly pulled off a second half comeback, as they scored four straight goals to cut Wheaton College's lead to four. However the Lyons would seal the victory with three straight goals in the fourth to earn a 13-6 win over the Beacons Wednesday afternoon at Nordin Field.
The Lyons (7-2) would score five goals in each of the first two quarters, but with a goal by the Beacons (4-5) just seconds before the halftime break, would spark an early second half run by UMass Boston.
Nick Tangherlini (Cohasset, Mass.) would start off the third quarter run less than four minutes in. Noah Ellis (Hingham, Mass.) and Tangherlini would then make it 10-5 with both players scoring on special teams. The final Beacons goal of the afternoon came from Donny Delpha (Walpole, Mass.), which cut the Lyons once comfortable lead to four with plenty of time left in the contest.
However, Wheaton would weather the storm, and did not allow another Beacons goal for the final 15 minutes, 25 seconds. They would tack on three more markers during the fourth quarter to seal the 13-6 win.
In the first quarter Joe Johnson (Roxbury, Mass.) would end the Beacons scoring draught, while senior Ryan McGoff (Charlestown, Mass.) netted his 16th of the year with 3:40 left in the second.
Sean LeBlanc (Marshfield, Mass.) would once again carry the Beacons defense with his six ground balls, while finishing second on the team with two caused turnovers. Daniel Coelho (Medford, Mass.) tallied three of UMB's 10 caused turnovers.
AJ Collette (West Springfield, Mass.) and Craig Frehill (Norwell, Mass.) combined for 17 saves, with the loss going to Collette.
Phil Truong (Quincy, Mass.) and Dan Geraghty (Norwich, Vt.) each won five face-offs, with the Lyons James Higgins finishing with 13 face-off victories.
The Lyons dominated the special teams as they finished 4-for-5 on extra man opportunities. Wheaton would also go a perfect 20-for-20 on clear attempts, while UMass went 16-for-24. Wheaton also held a 41-29 advantage in ground balls, and outshot UMass 55-18.
The Beacons return to action on Saturday when they travel to Eastern Connecticut State University for a 2 p.m. conference game.
