Wheaton's late-game lead slips away in 12-11 Pilgrim League loss at MIT

April 2, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, MA- Wheaton College held a 9-7 lead after three quarters Saturday afternoon at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), only to see the host Engineers outscore the Lyons, 5-2 in the fourth period en route to a thrilling 12-11 victory in Pilgrim League men's lacrosse action at Jack Barry Field.

Wheaton falls to 2-4 on the year and 0-2 in conference play, while the Engineers improve to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Pilgrim.

Senior midfielder Isaac Taylor (Woodstock, VT/Phillips Academy) tallied five goals, including the game-winner, in MIT's come-from-behind victory. Sophomore attack Andrew Rohan (South Hadley, MA/Avon Old Farms) paced the Lyons with five points on four goals and an assist.

Rohan wasted no time getting Wheaton on the scoreboard by connecting on a feed from first-year Richie Rasamny (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) after eight seconds had elapsed. Taylor countered with an unassisted goal eight seconds later. Rohan returned the lead to the Lyons at the 11:24 mark. Once again, Taylor notched the equalizer, converting a pass from senior Patrick Bossi (Falmouth, MA/Falmouth).

A goal by Wheaton junior captain Ellis Reavey (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) was answered with a score from Tech junior Scott Purchase (Locust Valley, NY/Locust Valley). For the third time in the period, Rohan gave his squad the edge, completing a hat-trick by scoring on a pass from sophomore Larry Nussbaum (Glastonbury, CT/Avon Old Farms). Rohan then set up junior John Sharry (Westwood, MA/Westwood), resulting in a 5-3 lead for the Lyons at the end of the period.

Junior captain Taylor Jackson (Middlesex, VT/Union 32) opened the scoring for Wheaton in the second stanza with an unassisted goal at 9:10. MIT's Taylor narrowed the deficit to two at 6-4 over a minute later. The Lyons' Adam Cohen (Montpelier, VT/Montpelier) then posted back-to-back goals, giving them their largest advantage of the game with 4:20 left in the half. The Engineers cut the margin back down to two during the next 1:06 on goals from Taylor and freshman Devin Dersh (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater). Wheaton maintained its 8-6 lead through halftime.

In the third quarter, sophomore Clinton Cain (Oviedo, FL/Oviedo) brought Tech within one at 9:14. The score remained the same until the 1:32 mark when Jackson reestablished Wheaton's two-goal cushion at 9-7.

In the fourth, Cain struck first for MIT, scoring at 12:12 on a feed from sophomore Tyler Sorba (San Anaelmo, CA/The Branson School. Senior Carter Powers (Brentwood, TN/Brentwood) tied the game with an unassisted goal less than three minutes later. The Lyons' Jackson ended the deadlock with an unassisted goal of his own at 3:37.

Sophomore Jonathan Stolmeier (San Antonio, TX/St. Mary's Hall) responded with consecutive goals, resulting in the Engineers' first lead of the game at 11-10 with 2:06 to play. Wheaton continued to attack with Rohan connecting on a pass from Jackson at 1:39. Just like in the first period, Tech's Taylor answered with the game-winning goal 15 seconds later.

In the net, Wheaton's Nick Jones (Hamden, CT/Hamden) finished with 11 saves, while Engineer sophomore Zach Brewer (Durham, NC/Riverside) collected 18 stops in the victory.

Wheaton will begin a welcomed four-game homestand on Thursday, April 7 against Wentworth Institute of Technology in a non-league game scheduled for 4:00 p.m. The Lyons have yet to play at Mirrione Stadium, as their first two scheduled home games were moved to Mansfield High School due to unplayable field conditions.

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