BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Mark Pappas (Worcester, Mass.) tallied five goals and added three assists to help pace the Wentworth men's lacrosse tam to an 18-2 win over Wheelock in non-conference action on Sweeney Field. The win snaps an eight-game losing streak for the Leopards, who improve to 2-8 on the season.
Junior Pat Helfrich (North Andover, Mass.) put the Black & Gold on the board at 10:37 on a feed from Pappas, however, the Wildcats got an unassisted marker from senior midfielder Kevin Kareckas (South Berwick, Maine) just 28 seconds later to tie the game at a goal apiece. From there the Leopards scored seven more times in the quarter as Helfrich added his second and sophomore Steve Glover (Marstons Mills, Mass.) and Pappas scored two goals, while freshman Dillon Lynch (Southwick, Mass.) and senior Justin Connors (Richboro, Pa.) had single goals.
Wentworth added six more in the second quarter as Pappas tallied a pair of goals and Glover and sophomores Sean Iacobone (Westminster, Mass.), Chris Kipp (Scarborough, Maine) and Zack Nicholson (Cutchogue, N.Y.) each scored once to make it a 14-1 game. Wheelock closed out the first half scoring on a goal from sophomore Zach Bushaway (Bethlehem, N.H.).
The Leopards kept the Wildcats off the board in the second half, using three goals in the third quarter and one in the fourth to round out the scoring. Pappas, Lynch, and freshman Michael Cushera (Waltham, Mass.) scored in the third quarter, while Helfrich tallied early in the fourth stanza.
Helfrich finished with three goals and three assists, Glover added three goals and two assists, and Lynch had a pair of goals to account for the Leopards' multiple-goal scorers. Connors finished with a goal and three assists.
The Leopards held advantages in shots (34-9), ground balls (47-14), and converted 20-of-21 clear attempts. At the faceoff X, Wentworth won 18 out of 23 draws, with freshman Kyle Lagarto (Cumberland, R.I.) leading the way with 12. Freshman Ryan Werge (North Groversdale, Conn.) was 4-for-4 on faceoffs. Lagarto also led the Leopards with eight ground balls.
Sophomore Jeff Bathalon (Maynard, Mass.) made one save for Wentworth. His counterpart, Wheelock junior Mike Manning (Brookfield, N.H.) made eight for the 0-7 Wildcats.
