Wheaton secures Pilgrim playoff spot, McNamara hits 100 in Norwich win

NORTHFIELD, VT- Sophomore Billy McNamara (Mansfield, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) became the fourth Wheaton College men's lacrosse player this season to surpass the 100-point plateau, as the Lyons recorded the game's first 11 goals against host Norwich University and didn't look back en route to an 18-10 win on Saturday at Howard Field.

Wheaton assured itself of a third consecutive appearance in the Pilgrim League Tournament, as the conference takes the top four teams, and will await results around the league to see about the possibility of landing the second seed and hosting a semifinal round game on Wednesday.  The Lyons improved to 7-7 overall and 5-2 in the Pilgrim, while the Cadets fell to 8-8 and 1-6.

McNamara, who came into the contest needing six points to reach 100, finished with a game-best eight on five goals and three assists.  Junior Chris Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor Academy) found the back of the net four times, while classmate Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) dished out four assists while scoring once.

Senior Warren Garceau (Guilford, CT/Canterbury School) tallied two times and was 11-for-19 on face-offs, while sophomore David Schroeder (Nashua, NH/Nashua North) turned in a pair of goals.  Senior goalie Schuyler Horn (New Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) recorded 11 stops in the win.

Freshman Joe Galante (Framingham, MA/Framingham) paced the hosts with four goals and an assist, and sophomore Nathan Proctor (Pleasanton, CA/Foothill) was credited with 13 saves between the pipes.

During Wheaton's 11-0 run that carried into the second period, Landers and McNamara each tallied four times, as the Lyons held an 8-0 advantage after one.  With the Lyons up 13-2 with 5:55 to play in the second, Norwich scored three straight to narrow its gap to 13-5 at the 10:22 mark of the third but came no closer.

Wheaton scored four of the third period's final six goals for a comfortable 17-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  Garceau and Schroeder scored 2:19 apart to end the third.  Norwich closed out the fourth on a 3-1 run, as junior Corey Best (Brentwood, TN/Ravenwood) notched the Lyons' lone goal, his first of the season.