GEORGETOWN, Texas – Senior Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) scored three goals and assisted on two others while junior Alec Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) had five points on a goal and four assists, as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team defeated Wheaton 10-9 in non-conference play Thursday afternoon at Southwestern University.
Wheaton got on the board in the first five minutes of play with a goal from freshman Scott Whear (Duxbury, Mass.). Four minutes later, senior Dillion Lynch (Southwick, Mass.) put Wentworth on the board to tie it at one. However, Whear struck again for Wheaton with 3:48 left, as the Lyons led 2-1 after the first.
The Coakley brothers helped lift the Leopards in the second quarter, as Ryan scored three times and sophomore Mike (Flemington, N.J.) scored a goal with Ryan on the assist. Paradis also added a goal for the Leopards while Whear tallied his third of the contest for Wheaton to make it 6-3 at the half.
Wentworth outscored the Lyons 3-1 in the third, as junior Nick Parent (Windham, N.H.) and freshman Jake Ollila (Goffstown, N.H.) joined in on the offense with Mike Coakley tallying his second of the game. Those goals came with a span of 3:22 and increased the lead to 9-3. Sophomore Ryan Gjerest (Austin, Texas) scored late in the third to make it a 9-4 after three quarters of play.
Gjerest's marker started a run of five straight for Wheaton as freshman Griffin Phaneuf (Manchester, N.H.) scored the first goal of the fourth and sophomore Devin Higgins (Nantucket, Mass.) tallied a pair for Wheaton. Higgins' goal at 7:01 made it a one goal game, but freshman Kevin Butler (Jefferson, Mass.) gave the Leopards a two-goal cushion with 5:47 remaining. Whear scored his game-high fifth of the afternoon with just over five minutes remaining to make it 10-9, However Wentworth fought off the Lyon offense and held on for the win.
Mike Coakley had a pair of goals and five other players tallied a single goal. Freshman Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) made 10 saves and had a team-high six ground balls. Senior Conor McGonagle (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) caused a game-high five turnovers.
Whear and Higgins paced Wheaton's offense with five and two goals, respectively. Higgins also had a stellar day at the X, winning 19 of 23 face-offs. Junior Ryan Clair (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) made a dozen saves and picked up a game-high eight ground balls.
The Leopards had a 36-34 shot advantage while the Lyons had the edge in ground balls (54-47) and face-offs (19-5).
Wentworth plays at Southwestern on Saturday night while Wheaton (3-2) is at Curry on Wednesday afternoon.
