NORTON, Mass. – As quickly as the Eastern Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team caught fire, the Warriors went stone cold. The result was only the Warriors' second loss to Wheaton College (MA) in the last 13 meetings, 14-8, Wednesday afternoon at Nordin Field.

After scoring four goals in the first 12 minutes, Eastern (2-4) went 26 minutes with just one more strike as Wheaton (5-2) outscored the Warriors 12-1 to build an eight-goal, 13-5 lead midway through the final quarter.

Junior goalie Blake Smaldone (Hamilton, MA) faced 55 shots and made 21 saves – equaling the sixth-most saves in a match in program history –but the Warriors managed just one goal in the middle 30 minutes and trailed 10-5, heading into the final quarter.

Eastern was tagged with 23 penalties (12 players had at least one) which accounted for 19 1/2 minutes worth of penalties and led to an astonishing 21 extra-man advantages for the hosts, who capitalized on six of them (and also countered with two man-down goals on a pair of Eastern extra-man situations.). The Lyons capitalizing on two man-up tries in the second quarter when they outscored Eastern 4-0, added two more in the third quarter and another pair in the final stanza.

Led by freshman James Higgins' ten ground balls, Wheaton held a decisive 50-28 advantage in that department. The Warriors also turned the ball over 20 times.

Senior Dean Accomando (Monroe) had a hand in half of Eastern's goals by scoring three and assisting on one, with senior Zach Thresher (Somers) added three helpers. Seniors Aaron Daley (Bloomfield) and Steven Nixon (Foxborough, MA) each had four ground balls.

Freshman Scott Whear improved his team-leading goal total to 17 for Wheaton with six goals and sophomore Will Morrison  had four goals and four assists, giving him 15 goals and 16 assists on the year. The pair each had two goals in their team's four-goal second quarter, with Morrison adding an assist.

Eastern opens Little East Conference play Saturday by hosting the University of Southern Maine at 2 p.m.