Jake Bernard

Freshman Jake Bernard made his first career goal a memorable one, as he beat the 'keeper with 6:11 remaining in regulation to give The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team the lead for good in their 7-5 victory over Gwynedd-Mercy College on Saturday afternoon at Gwynedd Valley, Pa.

The Scots (2-2) let early leads of 3-1 and 4-2 slip away, and eventually found themselves trailing 5-4 late in the third quarter. With less than two minutes to go in the third stanza, Matt Pullara scored his fourth goal of the game to knot the score at 5-5, but neither team could break the tie over the next 11 minutes of action. Finally, Bernard scored with just over six minutes to go, and less than two minutes later, Patrick Schlick added an insurance goal to give Wooster its 7-5 margin.

Early in the game it was all Pullara, as he scored a hat trick in the second quarter alone, and Mike Lloret added a goal as well, which gave the Scots a 4-2 halftime lead. The Griffins (2-5) scored twice over an eight second spurt early in the third quarter to tie the game 4-4, and then William Beck put them ahead 5-4, before Pullara scored his fourth which sparked Wooster's late scoring run.

The Scots led in shot attempts (37-25) and ground balls (27-15), and were 17-for-17 on clear attempts in the contest. In goal, the Scots gave freshman Matt Magoon his first career start, and he responded by making 10 saves, including five in the pivotal fourth quarter.

On Tuesday, Wooster will visit St. Vincent College (4-2) for a non-conference tilt that will begin at 4 p.m.