LEWISTON, Maine -- Grayson Connors scored seven goals and Jason Ben-Eliyahu assisted on four goals as the No. 15 Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team won at NESCAC opponent Bates College 14-10 on Saturday. Bates' season ends with a 3-10 record, 2-7 in NESCAC play. Wesleyan (9-4, 7-2) will host Trinity College tomorrow in the first round of the NESCAC Championships as the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

The host Bobcats outshot the Cardinals by a 45-33 margin, but had difficulty finding the cage, and Wesleyan goalie Mike Borrero kept the Cardinals on top with 11 saves in his 51-plus minutes of action.

Connors scored his first goal with a man-advantage to put Wesleyan ahead 3-1 midway through the first quarter. He scored three straight goals beginning with a tally late in the first quarter, giving Wesleyan a 7-2 lead halfway through the second period.

Bates scored three straight to close the gap to 7-5, but Wesleyan received a gift of sorts as the half drew to a close, when Spike Malangone's 3/4-field pass found Connors in front of the Bates cage, and Connors put the ball past Bates goalie Will Paddock as the horn sounded for an 8-5 Wesleyan lead at halftime.

Chris Jasinski scored two straight goals to open the third quarter and Connors scored the next two, giving Wesleyan a commanding 12-5 lead with 8:19 left in the third. Dan Latzman added an unassisted tally with 6:30 to play in the quarter and Wesleyan held Bates scoreless in the third to take an eight-goal lead into the final period.

Malik Solomon scored Wesleyan's final goal with 8:29 left to play, making it 14-5, before Bates scored the final five goals of the game.

Les Wade led the Bobcats with two goals and two assists, while Mike Medeiros added a pair of goals. Paddock had four saves in 37:35, before giving way to Hunter Mulligan in the Bates goal. Mulligan had four saves and allowed the final two Wesleyan goals.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Wesleyan University.  5  3  5  1 - 14
Bates College.......  2  3  0  5 - 10

Wesleyan University SCORING:
GOALS: Grayson Connors 7; Dan Latzman 2; Chris Jasinski 2; Jason Ben-Eliyahu 1; Russ Follansbee 1; Malik Solomon 1.
ASSISTS: Jason Ben-Eliyahu 4; Grayson Connors 1; Russ Follansbee 1; Alex Kaufman 1; Dan Latzman 1; Spike Malangone 1.

Bates College SCORING:
GOALS: Les Wade 2; Mike Medeiros 2; Justin Simon 1; Brent Morin 1; Will Akie 1; Pat Jackson 1; Matt Berg 1; David Barrett 1.
ASSISTS: Les Wade 2.

Wesleyan University GROUND BALLS: Bobby Goulding 7; Nick Hayes 4; Kwasi Ansu 3; Mike Borrero 3; Grayson Connors 3; Tim Dodds 3; Russ Follansbee 3; David Layne 3; Zach Librizzi 3; Spike Malangone 3; Chris Michael 3; Mike DeFranco 2; Graham Gnall 2; Dan Latzman 2; Pete Modera 2; Trevor Adams 1; Nick Ajello 1; Alex Kaufman 1; Gabe Kelley 1; Eddie McLaughlin 1; John Olbeter 1; Mike Polhemus 1; Ramanan Sivalingam 1; Malik Solomon 1; Matt Ward 1.

Bates College GROUND BALLS: Will Akie 9; Brent Morin 6; Matt Knortz 5; John Adams 4; Mike Medeiros 3; Justin Simon 3; Les Wade 3; Craig Blake 2; Press McCance 2; Hunter Mulligan 2; Michael Nadler 2; Will Randi 2; Matt Berg 1; Rory Cosgrove 1; Chris Cruise 1; Bryan Frates 1; Sam Geller 1; Mike Henry 1; Pat Jackson 1; Nathan Kellogg 1; Hans Tobiason 1; Ned Welbourn 1.

SHOTS - Wesleyan University 33; Bates College 45.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Wesleyan University 22; Bates College 23.

PENALTIES - Wesleyan University 3/3:00; Bates College 8/6:30.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Wesleyan University 1-7; Bates College 0-2.

FACEOFFS - Wesleyan University 14-26; Bates College 12-26.

CLEARS - Wesleyan University 18-21; Bates College 21-24.

GOALIES
WESM08: Mike Borrero (51:31 minutes, 16 shots-11 saves, 5 GA), Trevor Adams (04:20, 6-2, 4), Colin Campbell (03:29, 1-0, 1).
BAT: Hunter Mulligan (21:45, 6-4, 2) , Will Paddock (37:35, 16-4, 12).

2008-04-26