NAPLES — Wells scored just a single goal in the first quarter of its season opener Tuesday. The Warriors scored a lot more in the final three quarters.

A slow start turned into a fast ”“ and easy ”“ finish for the Warriors, as they ran away with a 16-4 WMC boys lacrosse victory over Lake Region.

It took nearly 10 minutes for Wells (1-0) to find the back of the net, when Noah Pease fed Ethan Marsh on the man-up to break the ice.

The Warriors didn’t score again until midway through the second quarter, but a second goal quickly turned into three in a 1:05 span. Ryan Marsh started the run, followed by Evan Whitten before Whitten fed Courtland Austin.

“Our offense is based on movement. So when they got back to that I think the score reflected it,” said Wells head coach Don Whitten. “We started out slow, and once we started getting back to those basics that I keep talking about, things really came together and they clicked.”

The Lakers (0-2) finally got on the board with a man-up goal by Ron Hall just under nine minutes into the quarter. Chad Fitzpatrick answered with a goal to put Wells up 5-1 at halftime.

The teams traded goals right off the bat in the second half, as Pease scored 45 seconds in and Lake Region’s Hunter Russo responded one minute later.

The Lakers looked like they might tilt the game in their favor five minutes in, as Mason LaPlante scored to cut the deficit to 6-3, but the Warriors went on another scoring spree to pull away.

Pease had a hand in the start and end of a four-goal spree over a 2:40 span, scoring the first goal, and after Austin and Sam Hazlett found the back of the net, assisting on a goal from Chase Whitney.

“All the things that we’ve worked on ”“ the fast breaks in particular we were very successful with today ”“ and just getting guys open on the crease and stuff like that, it’s just all the fundamentals and the basics that we’ve been working on and preaching at practice,” said Whitten, who was coaching his first game for the Warriors.

Ryan Marsh and Austin both tallied two goals in the fourth quarter, and Whitten and Justin Chace also found the back of the net. Chace’s score marked the ninth different Wells player to tally a goal.

“Nine different scorers ”“ that’s fantastic. That just shows you what the team’s about,” said Whitten. “I think that’s a really good indication that yeah, we are a team, and we’re not selfish and we’re moving the ball.”

Austin scored a game-high four goals, Ryan Marsh tallied three and Whitten and Pease both added a pair.

“They were excited today, but they were disciplined enough, they slowed their game down, they did what they had to do and yeah, it was awesome to see it come together,” said Whitten.

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.

Comments are not available on this story.