Cook's Four Goals Lead Gophers to Season-Opening Win

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Senior Theo Cook IV scored four times and transfers James Dugan and Tyler May recorded three goals apiece as the Goucher College men's lacrosse team downed Methodist University 12-8 in its season opener Saturday at Monarch Stadium.

• Goucher (1-0) scored 1:55 into the game on a Cook goal.
• Dugan scored his first Goucher goal with 11:27 left in the first, followed by Cook's second goal of the game at the 10:47 mark.
• Methodist (0-1) scored with 6:14 left in the quarter and scored again with 28 seconds remaining to pull within 3-2 after 15 minutes.

• Jesse Leyble tied the game for the Monarchs 10:43 before halftime.
• Goucher reeled off three goals in a span of 3:09 to build a 6-3 lead.
• Cook scored on an assist from May at the 8:53 mark, followed by Dugan's second goal of the game with 7:03 on the clock.
• May scored with 5:44 remaining to make it 6-3, but Methodist scored just five seconds later.
• Kevin Gearhart scored his first collegiate with 1:51 left to give the Gophers a 7-4 lead at halftime.  Jack McDermott assisted on the tally.

• The Monarchs scored twice in the first 1:23 of the second half to pull within 7-6.
• May scored with 5:05 left in the third, with Cook notching an assist.
• Dugan scored with 4:19 left on an assist by Holden Vance, followed by a May goal with Dugan assisting with just over two minutes left to push the lead up to four, 10-6.

• Methodist cashed in a man-up opportunity 14 seconds into the second half to make it a 10-7 game.
• Cook's fourth goal of the game at 8:16, followed by a Vance tally with 3:49 on the clock, made it a five-goal lead for the Gophers.
• The Monarchs scored in the final seconds to account for the final.

• Cook's four goals and five points are career single-game bests.  He also picked up three ground balls.
• Dugan had three goals and a pair of assists in his Gopher debut, while May notched three goals and an assist.
• Sophomore Vance also scored in his Goucher debut.
• First year goalie Jack Smith made 15 saves in his collegiate debut, stopping 15 of 23 shots faced.
• Senior Sean Nolan had five caused turnovers for Goucher and picked up four ground balls.
• Nick Gambone also caused a pair of Methodist turnovers.
• McDermott and DJ Barnes each had three ground balls, with Smith recording a pair.
• Methodist held a 44-33 shot advantage and won 19 of 22 faceoffs.  Monarch goalie Gabe Russell made nine saves.
• Goucher defeated Methodist in its season opener for the second straight year.

• Goucher plays its home opener next Saturday, February 24, hosting McDaniel in a 1 pm contest at Beldon Field.