BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Visiting Wheaton College secured the second seed in the upcoming Pilgrim League Tournament by edging out host Babson College, 12-11, in the final conference game of the regular season at MacDowell Field on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Lyons (6-6, 6-1 Pilgrim League) will host third-seeded MIT in Wednesday's semifinal round, while fourth-seeded Babson (5-10, 4-3 Pilgrim League) will travel to top-seeded Springfield for a semifinal matchup.

First-year Billy McNamara (Mansfield, Mass.) led all players with four goals in the win for the Lyons, while sophomore Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, Mass.) tallied two goals and two assists. Junior Warren Garceau (Guilford, Conn.) chipped in with two goals and one assist while picking up seven groundballs and winning 11 of 14 face-offs, and senior Jeff Gomer (Duxbury, Mass.) contributed one goal, two assists, and a team-high eight groundballs. Junior Schuyler Horn (New Hartford, Conn.) was outstanding in net for Wheaton, making 12 of his 16 saves in the second half.

Babson was led in defeat by senior E.J. Peterson (Framingham, Mass.), who scored three goals and dished out one assist for four points, and junior captain Max Artz (Gates Mills, Ohio), who led all players with a game-high nine groundballs. Sophomores Armand Wilson (Fairfield, Conn.) and Andrew Packer (Hudson, Ohio) each contributed two goals and one assist, while seniors Matt Harrington (Hanover, Mass.) and captain Bryan Wilbur (Hingham, Mass.) each added one goal and one assist in their final collegiate home game. Senior captain Max Owen (Hamilton, N.J.) started and made 10 saves in the first half for the Beavers, while sophomore Mike Saucier (Nashua, N.H.) stopped nine shots in the second half.

In an intense affair that featured five ties and three lead changes, Babson built an early lead on back-to-back goals by Wilbur and Packer. Gomer then scored a goal and assisted McNamara on another to tie the contest at 2-2 before Wilson converted a Harrington feed with just over a minute left in the opening quarter to give Babson a 3-2 edge after one.

After a goal by Wheaton junior Warren Garceau (Guilford, Conn.) knotted the contest at 3-3 early in the second, Babson once again opened a two-goal lead on consecutive scores by Peterson and Harrington. However, the Lyons erupted for six unanswered goals during a three-minute stretch late in the quarter, including two by McNamara, to take the largest lead of the game for either team, 9-5. The Beavers then netted two quick strikes in the final minute, including a goal by sophomore Christian Ebert (Boxford, Mass.) with 39 seconds left, to cut their deficit to two at the break.

The Babson defense took over in the third quarter, holding the Lyons scoreless on just six shot attempts. Meanwhile, the Beavers received a man-up goal by Packer to pull to within one, a goal by Wilson that tied the game with 9:50 left in the session, and a strike from Peterson with five seconds remaining to give the hosts a 10-9 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Wheaton again tied the game less than two minutes into the fourth, as Cederberg put in a feed from junior Drew Schaffer (New Haven, Conn.) to even the score at 10-10. The Lyons then moved in front for good when Schaffer netted an unassisted goal less than a minute later, and McNamara tallied his fourth of the game later in the period to give Wheaton a 12-10 advantage with just 2:24 remaining. Babson got one final goal when Wilbur assisted sophomore Ryan Kucinski (Cohassett, Mass.) with 1:36 left to play, but Horn made two huge saves and had another shot hit the crossbar in the final 1:20 as the Lyons held on for the one-goal victory.

Prior to Sunday's game, there was a brief ceremony in honor of Babson's six seniors. During their careers, Wilbur, Peterson, Harrington, Owen, senior Matt Enright (Bristol, R.I.), and senior captain Tyler Low (Natick, Mass.) led the Beavers to 23 victories and four consecutive bids to the Pilgrim League Tournament.