Wheaton Lacrosse Beats Out Competition

Both men's and women's lacrosse came out on top this week, as women edged out Gordon College 12-10 and the men dominated over Regis College 20 - 3.

For the women, senior Hailey Colburn (Concord, N.H./Concord) scored four goals and sophomore Charlotte DeSantis (Darien, Conn./Darien) potted three to propel the Wheaton College women's lacrosse team to its fifth-straight win, a 12-10 non-conference victory at Gordon College Thursday night at the Brigham Athletic Complex.

Senior Katie Powers (Ashburnham, Mass./Cushing Academy) and junior Kristen Palmer (East Dorset, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) each tallied twice for the Lyons, who improved to 8-3 on the season.

Senior Jordan Alexander (Portland, Maine/Portland) scored three goals in the opening 17 minutes of the contest to help stake Gordon to a 6-0 lead. Wheaton responded by scoring four of the next five goals to cut its deficit to three (7-4) entering halftime. Powers scored twice to spark the run while Palmer and Colburn also tallied once.

The momentum gained by the Lyons in the waning minutes of the first half carried over into the second as they scored the first four goals to take their first lead of the contest at 8-7. Colburn sandwiched a pair of goals around Palmer's second marker of the contest before an own goal by Gordon put the Lyons in front. Sophomore Anna Blomberg (Simsbury, Conn./Simsburg) responded for the Fighting Scots with a pair of goals in 32 seconds to help Gordon regain the lead at 9-8.

Down a goal with nine minutes remaining in regulation, Colburn netted her team-leading 52nd goal of the season at 8:18 to tie the game at nine. DeSantis followed with three goals in a span of 23 seconds to give the Lyons a 12-9 advantage. Blomberg registered her fifth of the contest for Gordon (8-2) with 2:51 remaining before the Lyons closed out the victory.

Freshman Katy Ananian (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) recorded four saves to earn her seventh victory of the season as the Lyons outshot the Fighting Scots 25-21. Wheaton forced 19 turnovers and tallied 18 ground balls, led by four from Colburn and three each from Palmer and senior Sydney Ferguson (Jamestown, R.I./North Kingstown).

Alexander finished with three goals and five assists for Gordon while sophomore Danielle Maguire (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) recorded 12 saves.

The Lyons return to action on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Mount Holyoke to Norton for a 1 p.m. contest.

On the men's lacrosse team, freshman Matthew Hillman (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) racked up nine points on five goals and four assists in Wheaton College's 20-3 win over Regis College in Pilgrim League men's lacrosse action Thursday evening.

Senior Duncan Smith (Centerport, N.Y./Harborfields) added five goals and dished out two assists for the Lyons, who improved to 6-3 (2-0 Pilgrim) with the win and have now doubled last season's win total. Nine different student-athletes recorded at least one point for Wheaton, and Hillman's nine points are the fifth-highest single-game total in program history.

Seniors Charlie Willauer (Duxbury, Mass./Proctor Academy) (2-3-5) and Mike Harrington (Sturbridge, Mass./Bancroft School) (4-1-5) each tallied five points while junior Sean Doherty (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) handed out four assists and sophomore Colby Shields (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) picked up a goal and two assists.

The Lyons led 4-1 after one and 10-1 at halftime behind three goals from Smith and two each from Harrington and Hillman. Harrington and Smith potted four of the first five Wheaton goals to open the second half and put the game away.

Wheaton finished the contest with a 38-16 edge in shots. Defensively, senior David Schroeder (Nashau, N.H./Nashua North) collected a game-high six ground balls while junior Jake Croasdale (Manchester, N.H./Kents Hill School) notched five.   

Sophomore Harrison Bramhall (Barrington, R.I./Trinity Pauling) recorded eight saves to earn his sixth win of the season for Wheaton.  Sophomore Jesse O'Neil (Charlestown, Mass./Boston Latin) played the final 18 minutes between the pipes and was credited with three saves.

For Regis, sophomore Breandan Crane (Billerica, Mass./Arlington Catholic) stopped eight Wheaton shots. Junior Stephen Bottex (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) and sophomores Chris Costello (Edgartown, Mass./Martha's Vineyard) and John Basbas (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) each scored goals for the Pride (3-7, 0-2 Pilgrim).

The Lyons return to action on Wednesday when they host Wentworth at 4 p.m.