Ashland, Va.----Mercyhurst University senior midfielder Colin Greenway (Williamsville, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal with 10:50 left in the third quarter and the number 15 Lakers made the lead stick in a 6-5 NCAA Division II men's lacrosse triumph over number 12 Wingate University Sunday afternoon at Day Field on the campus of Randolph-Macon College.
 
Five Wingate student-athletes had one goal each. Freshman attack Bobby Padden (Cary, N.C.) had his first career goal and first career assist to lead the Bulldogs. WU senior attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.) had two assists to match Padden's point total.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Score: #15 Mercyhurst 6, #12 Wingate 5
Records: #12 Wingate 1-1, #15 Mercyhurst 1-1
Location: Day Field, Ashland, Va.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
-Wingate outshot Mercyhurst 31-19.
-Mercyhurst won nine-of-14 face-offs. The Lakers held a 27-19 edge in ground balls.
-The MU Lakers were zero-for-nine on extra-man opportunities.
-Both goalies played 60 minutes. Wingate graduate student Jacob Ormerod (Lake Mary, Fla.) had four saves, while Mercyhurst sophomore Alec Starr (Pittsford, N.Y.) posted 13 saves.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Quarter
 
Wingate started strong, taking a 2-0 lead five minutes into the contest. WU sophomore attack Gary Pierpont (Huntingtown, Md.) started the scoring at the 12:20 mark. Bulldog junior attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) tallied the second goal three minutes later (9:51). Both goals were assisted by Sullivan.
 
Mercyhurst tied the score 2-2 on back-to-back goals by freshman attack Devin Pipher (Oshawa, Ontario) late in the quarter (3:42, 2:28). The two teams stayed knotted 2-2 at the quarter break.
 
Second Quarter
 
Pipher's two first-quarter goals started a 5-0 run for the Lakers. The flurry concluded on a goal by junior midfielder Evan Schumacher (Las Vegas, Nevada) at the 5:29 mark. The Bulldogs rallied with goals by senior attack Seth Grimwood (Huntingtown, Md.) and Padden to make the score 5-4 Mercyhurst at intermission.
 
Third Quarter
 
Wingate junior midfielder Conor Gronbach (Cary, N.C.) tied the score 5-5 on a Padden assist at the 12:33 mark. Greenway scored the game-winner two minutes later. The Bulldogs outshot the Lakers 10-5 in the third quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter
 
The Bulldogs held a 6-5 shot advantage in the fourth quarter, but the 2017 South Atlantic Conference tournament champions could not find the back of the nets. Starr saved five of Wingate's six shots in the final frame.
 
TURNING POINT
 
Starr and the Laker defense made the team's slim lead stick in the pivotal fourth quarter.
 
NOTABLES
 
The last three games between the Bulldogs and the Lakers have been decided by one goal each. Wingate won a 12-11 decision at Randolph-Macon on April 9, 2017. The previous season, Mercyhurst claimed a 9-8, four-overtime victory at Randolph-Macon on Feb. 21, 2016.
 
QUOTABLES
 
Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Tim Boyle: "This game was a hard-fought defensive battle against a tough, disciplined, well-coached team. The boys played very hard until the final whistle. Today just wasn't our day. We will learn a lot about ourselves from this game and hope to make progress moving forward."
 
ON THE HORIZON

Wingate returns home Saturday, hosting number 20 the University of Indianapolis at 1 p.m.