WINGATE, N.C. – The third-ranked Mercyhurst College men's lacrosse opened the 2011 season with a 13-8 win over Wingate Sunday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium in Wingate, N.C. With the victory, the Lakers move to 1-0, while the Bulldogs fall to 2-1 on the season.

Sophomore Brian Scheetz led the Lakers to their 10th straight opening day win with a goal and four assists. Junior Kyle Kallay scored a hat trick and added a helper, while senior Cameron McLean scored once and assisted on two others.

Seniors Kevin Coholan and Andy Winslow, junior Ian Wild and sophomore Zac Reid each added two goals apiece.

Senior Zach Nash earned the win in net with five saves, three of which came in the fourth quarter.

Mercyhurst overcame a slow start and rolled back from a 3-0 deficit by outscoring its host 11-3 over the second and third quarters.

After exchanging two goals aside to make it a 5-2 game in the second, Winslow kickstarted one of two lengthy runs by the Lakers when he connected off a pass from Scheetz at 4:17. A goal by Kallay a little over three minutes later at the 1:12 mark pulled the Lakers within one, and Coholan's shot with four seconds remaining tied the teams at five heading into the break.

Mercyhurst took its first lead of the game when Wild beat netminder Danny Dlugozima with just 38 seconds elapsed in the second half. Three more MC goals followed before Wingate broke up the seven-goal run on Travis Barrett's team-leading third of the game with 3:25 showing on the clock.

The Lakers would then go on to score four straight to balloon their lead to 13-6 with minutes to play in the fourth before Wingate closed out the game with two goals in the final three minutes and 29 seconds.

Merchurst controlled the pace of the game with a 46-23 advantage in shots, including 13-6 in the second and 17-4 in the third. The Lakers also had the upper hand in the ground ball battle, 34-24, and won 18-of-25 faceoffs taken behind a 14-of-18 performance by Wild.

Mercyhurst continues its southern trip this week when it faces ninth-ranked Mars Hill on Friday, Mar. 4 in Mars Hill, N.C.