Fourth Quarter the Difference in Scots’ 12-9 Win Over Witt

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster scored two goals early in the fourth quarter, the first of which broke a 9-9 tie, and then used steady defense to come away with a 12-9 win over Wittenberg University in North Coast Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action at a warm, but breezy John P. Papp Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The meeting between the two rivals played out similarly to last year, with the exception being, it was Wittenberg that produced a 3-0 fourth quarter to prevail 11-10 in 2008.

This time, Matt Pullara of Wooster (7-4, 2-1 NCAC) set the tone for the fourth, as he won the face-off, picking up the groundball in the process, and then sprinted right down the heart of the defense en route to an unassisted goal for a 10-9 lead just six seconds into the quarter. Just 2:22 later, Chris Gatsch converted an outside shot from the right wing, giving the Fighting Scots their first two-goal cushion.

Wittenberg (7-5, 1-3 NCAC) had a number of opportunities to get back in the game in the fourth, however, Wooster's defense was solid, forcing the Tigers to settle for many outside shots that went high or wide. In fact, of Wittenberg's 12 shots during the final period, Scot goalie Corey McGann only needed to save one of them to preserve the shutout quarter.

Early on, the Tigers held the advantage, taking a 4-2 lead late in the first quarter and increasing it to 6-3 during the opening minute of the second. Wooster, though, closed the half strong as it put together a 3-1 stretch to pull within 7-6.

The Scots tied it up 18 seconds into the third, a quarter that they would win 3-2, as the teams would enter the fourth all even.

Pat Coyne continued his recent stretch of standout play with a four-goal, one-assist outing to lead Wooster, while Gatsch notched a hat trick and one assist for four points. Tim Lee connected on goals twice and Pullara and Mark Weschler each registered one goal and one assist.

Also noteworthy, Pullara won 19-of-23 face-offs, leading to most of his six groundballs, which tied for the team lead, along with Bryan MacDonald and Graham Zimmerman, and McGann posted nine saves.

The Scots have another key league home game on Wednesday when Ohio Wesleyan University (8-4, 2-1 NCAC) visits Papp Stadium at 4:30 p.m.