Poets come up short in Dover, fall to Wesley 11-10

DOVER, Del. - The Whittier College men's lacrosse team trailed 8-4 at the start of the fourth quarter and rallied to pull within one-goal with 22 seconds left in the game but it wasn't enough as the Poets lost to Wesley College on Tuesday afternoon, 11-10.

Whittier (5-6) won the ensuing face-off after Daniel McQuade pulled the Poets within one late in the fourth quarter. Sam Russell's game tying attempt sailed wide of the cage as time expired on the purple and gold comeback.

WC's deficit hit a game-high five goals with 8:36 to play in the game. The Poets trailed by five in the fourth quarter on two separate occasions. Wesley led 9-4 with 12:48 left in the game and 10-5 with just over eight and a half minutes remaining.

The Poets' furious rally saw them score five of the final six goals of the game.

McQuade led the way for Whittier with a four-goal afternoon. Anthony Lackey added four points on one goal and three assists while Christian Wright chipped in with a one-goal, two assist, effort.

Ben Brown made 11 saves in the loss which includes six in the third quarter.

The Poets handled 14-of-24 face-offs and picked up 36 ground balls to Wesley's 35.

WC trailed 5-3 at halftime.

Whittier continues its east coast road trip with a game tomorrow, April 1, in Westminster, Md., against McDaniel College at 7 p.m.