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BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Lacrosse team staved off a late rally by Wheaton College Saturday afternoon, defeating the Lyons 11-10.

Roger Williams gets its second straight victory to improve to 2-0, while Wheaton falls to 1-2 on the year. The Hawks had a five-goal lead cut to one in the final two minutes before holding on for the win.

Ian Powers (Shrewsbury, Mass.) began the game with a pair of goals to put the Hawks on top 2-0. Will Compton (Deering, N.H.) responded with a goal at the 8:58 mark of the first quarter, but Dan Klink (Nashua, N.H.) and Jon Nessa (Concord, Mass.) notched two more scores within a minute to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead.

In the second quarter, Wheaton pulled within one on a score by Mike Harrington to make it a 4-3 game in favor of the Hawks.  Drew Beck (Nashua, N.H.) and Michael Kemmy (Bristol, R.I.) each put in a goal to extend the lead back to three, but Charlie Willauer (Duxbury, Mass.) closed out the half with a score to make it 6-4 in favor of RWU going into the break.

Nessa and Powers kicked off the third quarter with goals, helping the Hawks outscore the Lyons 3-1 in the period. A penalty in the closing second of the quarter helped give Colby Shields (Yarmouth, Maine) a man-up goal 22 seconds into the fourth quarter. Klink and Kemmy each scored in the quarter to give RWU an 11-6 lead with 8:28 to play.

The Hawks looked poised for the easy win but Wheaton mounted a rally with four straight scores over the final five minutes of play to pull within one. The Lyons nearly completed the comeback, but Hawk goalie Luke Aubrey (Norwalk, Conn.) turned away an attempt by David Schroeder (Nashua, N.H.) with under a minute to play, allowing the Hawks to clear the ball and hold on for the win.

Aubrey made eight saves in the game for the win. Powers led with a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists. Nessa finished the game with five points on two goals and three assists. Mitri Najjar (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) had a solid defensive game with four ground balls and eight caused turnovers.

Harrison Bramhall (Barrington, R.I.) made 13 saves for Wheaton in the loss. Shields, Compton, and Matthew Hillman (Brookline, Mass.) each scored two goals for the Lyons.

Roger Williams travels south to play Virginia Wesleyan on Tuesday, while Wheaton takes on Manhattanville on Wednesday.