Wilkes Women's Lacrosse Takes Down Gwynedd Mercy 15-12 in Back-and-Forth Shootout
 
GWYNEDD VALLEY – The Wilkes women's lacrosse team outlasted Gwynedd Mercy University in their tightly-contested non-conference affair Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Colonels picked up their first victory of the season and improved to 1-2 overall. Meanwhile, the Griffins suffered their third-straight loss to open the season with an 0-3 record.
 
Gwynedd Mercy jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter before Brooklyn Pedana (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) notched her third goal of the season to stop the bleeding.
 
Wilkes continued to respond to the early Griffin attack with a pair of goals courtesy of Morgan Hettesheimer (Monroe Twp., PA/Tunkhannock Area) and Sam Mullen (Dover, PA/York Catholic). Mullen's second of the season tied the game at three goals apiece with 3:51 remaining in the first frame.
 
The Griffins answered less than a minute later with a free-position shot goal at 3:05. They tacked on a man-up goal exactly 60 seconds later to take a two-goal advantage.
 
As the first quarter neared its end, the Colonels bounced back once again with two quick goals. Ava Ward (Mount Pleasant, SC/Bishop England) ripped a shot home at 1:32 to cut the deficit to one goal with Mullen picking up an assist on the play. 28 seconds later, Breanna Fulling fired home her fourth of the season to tie the game back up at 5-5.
 
After an initial save by Wilkes goalkeeper Samantha Scott (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) with less than 30 seconds left, Gwynedd Mercy recovered the loose ball and buried the rebound to end the first 15 minutes of action with a 6-5 advantage.
 
The first few minutes of the second quarter were quiet before Wilkes' Maleah Cobham (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke) found the back of the net with 10:34 remaining on the clock to knot up the score at six apiece.
 
It wasn't but 1:04 later that Gwynedd Mercy scored to take a 7-6 lead with 9:30 remaining in the second. Then, with 7:17 left, the Griffins scored again to take a two goal lead.
 
The Colonels continued to battle down the stretch of the first half and leveled the score after attacker Mara Adams' (Mehoopany, PA/Tunkhannock Area) tallied her first two collegiate goals at 6:14 and 4:43.
 
A late goal by the Griffins gave them a 9-8 lead heading into halftime.
 
A Gwynedd Mercy free-position attempt at 11:48 of the third quarter created some chaos in the Colonels' defensive zone. After an initial shot rang the crossbar, the Griffins recovered possession and sent another shot in on Scott, who made the save to keep Wilkes within one score.
 
Mullen factored into her third game-tying goal of the evening when she ripped a shot past the goalie at 9:11. Ward picked up an assist on the 9-9 marker. Wilkes jumped ahead to their first lead of the night with 6:57 left in the third as Ward potted her second of the game to put the Colonels up 10-9. They carried that lead into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
 
The Griffins struck quickly in the final frame, knotting the score at 10-10 just 27 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Wilkes offense hung around, however, and continued to apply pressure on their opponents. With her team up a player, Adams scored her third of the game to complete the hat trick and reclaim their lead. Pedana assisted on the goal at 11:18.
 
A Gwynedd Mercy equalizer with 8:25 left in the fourth provided the Colonels with yet another challenge to overcome. Goals by Fulling and Ward gave Wilkes a slight 13-11 with just under seven minutes remaining.
 
A free position goal at 4:55 cut the Griffins' deficit in half, however a 14-12 tally by Mullen and a late Cobham insurance marker sealed the deal for the Colonels, who claimed their first victory of the season 15-12.
 
Pedana led all Colonels with seven points, including six assists. Ward made significant contributions on the field, posting three goals, three assists, three caused-turnovers and five ground balls. Adams and Mullen also recorded hat trick performances. Fulling generated three caused-turnovers and four points while Scott stopped nine shots in net.
 
The Griffins saw four of their goals come from Hailey Bloom, who registered six shots on goal, four ground balls and a caused turnover as well. Kristin Varilla and Alysia Collins each finished with two-point performances as Victoria Sloan made seven saves in goal.
 
The Colonels hit the road once again when they travel to Manhattanville College for a 12:00 p.m. showdown with the Valiants.