KEENE, NH- The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team could not overcome a four-goal halftime deficit during its season opener on Thursday at Keene State College, as the Lyons came up short, 14-8 at the Owl Athletic Complex. The contest was the team's first under head coach Brian Endicott, while the hosts improved to 2-0.

Senior Jeff Gomer (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) scored the first goal of the season after just 3:11 of the opening quarter, and the Lyons held the lead until the Owls knotted the contest with 2:11 to go and took the lead with 15 seconds remaining.

Junior Drew Schaffer (New Haven, CT/Loomis Chaffee School) tied the game 58 ticks into the second period, but Keene State scored the next four goals, including twice in a five-second stretch and two more during a matter of 47 ticks before Shaffer tallied again at the 2:58 mark. Wheaton headed into halftime down by a 7-3 count.

Schaffer and Gomer found the back of the net just six seconds apart early in the third, bringing the Lyons within 7-5 at 12:42, and sophomore Chris Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor Academy) made it 8-6 with 9:18 to go. Three straight Owl tallies to close out the third made it a five-goal game, and a pair of Gomer markers 44 seconds apart early in the fourth created a 11-8 margin before the hosts scored the final three goals.

Gomer, who entered the game with 11 goals in 45 career games, finished with a career-high four tallies as well as six ground balls and five face-off victories. Schaffer added a hat trick, and sophomore Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) tacked on a pair of assists. Junior Warren Garceau (Guilford, CT/Canterbury School) won seven draws, while classmate Alex Lewis (Westford, NJ/Westford) made 10 saves for the Lyons.

Senior Casey Broderson (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) had four goals for the Owls, classmate Tony Santa Fe (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) notched two markers and three assists, and freshman Griffin Meehan (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) turned in four helpers. Sophomore Alec Corliss (Waltham, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) made 14 saves in net, as Keene State held a slim 38-35 edge in shots.

Wheaton continues a season-opening four-game road swing by heading to Elmira College in New York on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. contest.