Strong First Half Fuels LAX Past Wheelock

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team defeated Wheelock College by an 11-6 final on Wednesday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at Alumni Field.

Jacob Setzko finished with a game-high four goals and added an assist to lead the Mariners (2-7 overall, 1-1 NECC). Jackson Brockwell netted his first career hat trick to go with a pair of helpers while Kyle Marsh and Brian Jordan each added a pair of scores.

Gary Broad had three goals and an assist to pace the Wildcats (2-9 overall, 0-3 NECC). Jared Trainor added two goals and an assist while Luke McKinnon contributed one goal and three helpers.

Wheelock got on the scoreboard first when Trainor scored off a feed from Broad less than four minutes into the contest. However, Mitchell answered back with five goals over the final seven minutes of the quarter to surge into the lead. Brockwell scored twice during the stretch while Jordan, Marsh and Setzko each found the back of the net once.

Brockwell fed Marsh early in the second quarter to make it a 6-1 game. A score by McKinnon gave the Wildcats some life late in the half, but Setzko finished off the stanza with a flurry of goals in the final 2:31. He potted three goals in the spurt to give Mitchell a 9-2 advantage at intermission.

Brockwell and Jordan scored 51 seconds apart in the third quarter to give the Mariners their biggest lead at 11-2. Wheelock fought until the end, finishing the game with four unanswered goals. Broad provided the final three, two of which came with a man advantage.

Mitchell held a 53-23 edge in shots. Goalie JD LeMay made seven saves while his defense helped to cause a season-high 18 turnovers. Adam Liudzius had a career day at the face-off spot, winning 16 of 19 attempts while scooping up a game- and season-high 12 ground balls.

Josh DiMassa made 11 saves in goal for the Wildcats. Broad led the team in both caused turnovers (5) and ground balls (7).

Mitchell will next play at Becker College on Tuesday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m. Wheelock returns to action at home against Lyndon State College on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.