Landers tallies six, Lyons push past Massachusetts Maritime, 14-9

BUZZARDS BAY, MA- Junior Chris Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor Academy) netted six goals, leading the Wheaton College men's lacrosse team past Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 14-9 on Wednesday evening during a Pilgrim League contest in Clean Harbors Stadium. The Lyons improved to 6-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference, while the Buccaneers fell to 2-12 and 0-6. Wheaton now leads the all-time series 14-3.

Sophomore Billy McNamara (Mansfield, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) added two goals and two assists for Wheaton, while junior Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) had one goal and three assists. Landers tacked on a helper to finish with seven points. Cederberg, Landers and McNamara each now have at least 20 goals and 20 assists, marking the first time in program history that more than one player accomplished the feat.

Senior Warren Garceau (Guilford, CT/Canterbury School) went 18-for-25 on face-offs for Wheaton, which held a 60-19 advantage in shots, while classmate Schuyler Horn (New Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) made two saves.

For the hosts, senior Connor Burke (Del Mar, CA/San Dieguito Academy) notched four goals, and classmate James Hitchings (Dover, MA/Dover-Sherborn) had 19 saves.

With the score tied at one, Wheaton tallied five goals over a 5:18 span during the final 6:43 of the opening quarter to capture a 6-1 advantage. McNamara had two goals and a pair of assists during that time alone, while Cederberg added a goal and two helpers.

Massachusetts Maritime opened the second period with four straight goals to creep within 6-5, including netting the first three in the initial 2:45. Landers countered with the last two markers of the half during the final 2:37, giving Wheaton an 8-5 edge heading into halftime.

After the squads traded two goals apiece in the third quarter, the Lyons tallied the first three markers of the fourth to take a 13-7 advantage, their largest of the game. Garceau, Landers and freshman Sean Doherty (East Lyme, CT/East Lyme) all scored in that time, with Doherty's marker the first of his career.

Wheaton completes its regular season slate in Vermont on Saturday at Norwich University. The teams square off at 1:00 p.m. in Pilgrim League play, as the Lyons need a win to keep their hopes alive of hosting a postseason contest.