Wooster Comeback Bid Falls Shy in 15-13 Setback to Saint Vincent

Trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team almost mounted a comeback by scoring six goals during a 10 minute span, but Saint Vincent College tacked on two more tallies to keep the Fighting Scots at bay and escape with a 15-13 victory in a high-scoring affair Tuesday at Latrobe, Pa.

The Scots (2-3) were playing from behind for most of the afternoon, as an early run by Saint Vincent (5-2) had them down 6-2 just midway through the first quarter. Matt Pullara took advantage of an extra-man opportunity to pull Wooster within 6-3, and then more goals followed, as Jake Bernard, Joe Suliman, a second from Pullara, and Matt Ranck scored to give the Scots a 7-6 lead. With just 10 seconds remaining before halftime, Saint Vincent's Mike Diggs beat the 'keeper to knot the game at 7-7.

It was all Saint Vincent during the third quarter, as Wooster's non-conference foe tacked on six unanswered goals during the stanza to build a commanding 13-7 cushion. The Scots responded quickly in the fourth, as Patrick Schlick and Mike Lloret each scored during a 48 second spurt to cut the deficit to four goals (13-9).

Saint Vincent's Jake Dick snuck in goal to make it 14-9, but Wooster gained the momentum back in a hurry, as goals by Suliman, Pullara, and two more from Lloret made it a 14-13 thriller with just three minutes left in regulation. The Scots were unable to find the back of the net in the game's closing moments, though, and Saint Vincent added insurance to notch a 15-13 triumph.

Leading Wooster on the stat sheet was Lloret with four goals and an assist, while Pullara scored three goals and dished out two helpers. Also noteworthy, freshman Nathan Pagniano and Logan Fitch recorded their first career goal and assist, respectively.

The Scots' goalkeeping duties were split evenly between Jake Kubasta and Matt Magoon. Kubasta led the way with 12 saves, which all came in the first half.

For Saint Vincent, Adam Gunter played the entire contest in goal and recorded 10 saves in a winning effort. Offensively, Saint Vincent was led by Ryan Kerney (3 goals, 2 assists).

Wooster will host Colorado College (4-0) on Thursday at 1 p.m.