Norton, Mass. — April 16, 2011 – Nine different players found the back of the cage as the regionally-ranked Springfield College men’s lacrosse team cruised past Wheaton College, 21-11 in a key Pilgrim League game during Wheaton’s Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Mirrione Stadium.

Wheaton slipped to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in league play. Ranked eighth in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) poll, Springfield improved to 7-5 and remained unbeaten at 3-0 against league foes.

Seniors Bobby Barry (Duxbury, Mass.), Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, Mass.) and Chris Landers (Manchester, Mass.) scored three goals apiece for Wheaton. Junior Billy McNamara (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied once while handing out five assists. Freshman Jesse O’Neil (Charlestown, Mass.) stopped nine shots in the loss.

Nine different players scored for Springfield, with senior Austin Orsini (Webster, N.Y.) and junior Shane Ferguson (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) tallying five times apiece. Senior Shawn Runyon (Fairport, N.Y.) posted two goals to go alongside five assists, while juniors Harry Bernstein (Westfield, N.J.), Parker Geane (Easton, Conn.) and Jarrid Johnson (Orlando, Fla.) contributed two markers and one assist apiece. Freshman goalie Robert Maher (Katonah, N.Y.) made four saves in recording his first win.

The Pride ripped off seven straight goals to open the game, leading 7-0 after one quarter, before Wheaton answered with a pair of tallies from Cederberg in the first 2:09 of the second period. The Lyons held a 6-5 edge in the quarter, tallying three markers in the final 5:37 to pull within 12-6 at the intermission.

Springfield opened things up in the third period with four goals in a span of 2:05 for a 17-7 advantage at 7:38. The teams traded markers in the last 41 seconds of the quarter to make the score 18-8. Wheaton scored twice in the first 3:38 of the final session before the Pride rallied with three goals to earn their largest advantage at 21-10 with 2:44 remaining.

Springfield will have the week off before hosting Mass. Maritime next Saturday (April 23) at 1 pm at Stagg Field.