EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes University men's lacrosse team scored two unanswered goals in the final 6:36 to earn a 10-9 victory over Rosemont College at Schmidt Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Colonels improved to 2-1 with the victory.

Rosemont got on the board first when it scored with 12:41 remaining in the first quarter.

Junior Nicholas Ruggiero (Califon, NJ/Voorhees) tied the game in the fifth minute when he took a pass from sophomore Matthew Bush (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) and put it past the Ravens goal keeper for his fifth goal of the season.

Rosemont retook the lead in the 12^th minute when it scored a man-up goal.

Wilkes exploded for five answered in the second quarter, taking a 6-2 lead. Bush recorded his first tally of the game man-up in the 18^th minute unassisted to tie the game at two.  The Colonels took their first lead of the game in the 28 seconds later when sophomore JT Weitzel (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) took a pass from freshman Connor Daly (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.) and rocketed the ball with 11:36 remaining until halftime.

Sophomore John Wink (Glenside, Pa./Abington) scored twice in 12 seconds in the 22^nd minute, scoring with an assist from junior Jeremy Kachel (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) with 8:30 on the clock and scored immediately after when freshman Evan Stolicker (Baldwinsville, NY/Charles W. Baker) won the following face-off with sophomore Gerard Setteducato (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp.) picking up the ground ball and passing to Wink who laced a shot past the Ravens goalkeeper.

Bush scored the final goal of the run with 6:48 on the clock unassisted to give Wilkes a 6-2 lead.

Rosemont scored in the final minute of the half as the Colonels entered halftime with a 6-3 lead.

The Ravens took 11 seconds to cut the deficit to 6-4 starting the third quarter.

Bush expanded Wilkes' lead in the 32^nd minute with an assist from Kachel.

Rosemont scored two goals in the 39^th minute and goals in the 41^st and 42^nd minute to take an 8-7 lead with 13:45 remaining in the game.

Bush continued his heroics in the 44^th minute when he recorded an unassisted goal to tie the score at eight with 11:32 remaining in the game.

Rosemont retook the lead with 7:25 left on the clock.

Kachel picked an excellent time to record his first goal of the season, taking a pass from freshman John Luna (Valley Center, CA/Valley Center) to tie the game at nine with 6:36 left.

The Ravens took a delay of game penalty with 4:02 left, giving the Colonels a man-up opportunity that they converted when Bush recorded his fifth goal of the game with an assist from sophomore Max Brown (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) for what proved to be the eventual game winner with just under four minutes remaining.

The Colonels maintained possession for the final two minutes, with Rosemont taking four penalties in the final 1:41 to close out the game.

Bush recorded a new career high in both goals and points, tabbing five goals and one assist for six points. Kachel finished with one goal and two assists for three points, while Wink added two goals. Six Wilkes players finished with one point each.

Freshman Carter Whittemore (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) made six saves to earn his second career victory.

The Colonels return to the field on Saturday, March 11^th when they travel to Immaculata for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference contest.