Michael Quinn's fourth quarter goal proved to the difference in a back-and-forth contest, as Mercer defeated the Cleveland State Vikings, 10-9, in Five Star Stadium on Sunday. Quinn was one of seven Bears to score in the victory. Will McCarthy scored a game-high four goals and completed a hat trick in the opening quarter. Quinn, Jack McGuire, Collin Stewart, Ashton Wood, Patrick Marks and Nick Rockefeller each added one goal. Mercer (2-3) got the scoring started in Five Star Stadium when McGuire scored off a pass from Rockefeller only 33 seconds after the opening face-off. The Orange & Black quickly added to their tally when McCarthy netted the first of his three goals in the opening quarter, 1:49 into the match. Cleveland State (0-1) answered the Bears, scoring twice within 62 seconds to tie the contest. Jason Sullivan scored the Vikings' first goal of the morning with 12:05 remaining in the quarter, and 58 seconds later Brendan Sigurdson tied the non-conference battle at two-all. After nearly five minutes without a goal, McCarthy stopped the drought with his second goal of the day. Khory Reid, who had the honor wearing No. 24 in honor of former signee John Michael Knight, nearly gave the Bears a two-goal lead, but Cleveland State's Kevin Sobey managed to snag the shot and send the Vikings on the attack. The Vikings' clear was successful, and Sigurdson sent the ball to Derek Radke who made it a 3-3 game with 5:18 left in the first. Two minutes later, Connor Purcell forced the Vikings to turn the ball over. Purcell recorded the ground ball and sprinted down the field towards Stewart. Stewart stood ready to receive the pass 13 yards from the left post and proceeded to fire a shot just inside the post for the goal. The Vikings tied the game once again, but McCarthy completed the first quarter hat trick with 25 seconds remaining to put the Bears ahead, 5-4. The first 10 minutes of the second quarter were quiet, but Cleveland State added two unanswered goals – first with 5:05 remaining and again with 2:45 until the intermission – to take a 6-5 lead. Playing from behind, Mercer's Wood quickly scooped up the ensuing face-off and answered the Vikings in four seconds, sending a scorcher into the back of the net from 15 yards out while still in a full sprint towards the goal. If you polled the fans in Five Star Stadium, chances are many would have said the two teams would enter the locker room deadlocked at six, but Marks had a different idea. Taylor Dooley stood five yards behind the goal and found Marks 10 yards away from him on the edge of the right post. Marks swung towards the middle and sent the ball into the lower left quadrant of the net to give the Orange & Black a 7-6 halftime lead. Cleveland State scored the first goal of the third quarter, and Mercer recorded two shots that narrowly missed finding the back of the net. Quinn's try at the 14:26 mark hit the post, while Marks' attempt at his second goal of the day was stopped. With 7:47 to play, Colin Kelley made a remarkable save, and the Bears' successfully cleared the ball to their attacking zone. Rockefeller scored with 6:50 to go in the third quarter, giving the Bears a one-goal advantage, 8-7. The Orange & Black took control and began to threaten as Quinn and Marks forced the Vikings' Sobey to show some agility with a trio of saves. McCarthy snuck one past Sobey off a pass from Quinn with 3:34 to go as Mercer extended its advantage to 9-7, but Cleveland State got the last laugh of the quarter. The Vikings scored two goals in 70 seconds to tie the game after 45 minutes. The Bears had four shots in the first 3:08 of the final quarter with three of the four nearly finding their way into the net. Daniel Shumake's try was blocked and both of Stewart's attempts careened off the post. Dooley recovered Stewart's second try of the quarter and sent the ball to Quinn, who scored the eventual game-winner a mere 3:35 into the quarter. Quinn split a pair of defenders, received the ball and fired the off balance shot into the net. The Vikings challenged Kelley only twice after the Bears took the lead with Kelley saving both shots. Cleveland State tried to scurry down field in the final 30 seconds but lock down defense by Mercer forced the Vikings into an unsuccessful clear attempt, allowing the Bears to regain control and run out the clock to secure a 10-9 win. NOTABLES Mercer now owns a 3-1 record against Cleveland State. The last two contests between the Bears and Vikings have been decided by a combined four goals. McCarthy had his third multi-goal outing of the year with four goals. The Walpole, Mass., native recorded four points for the second time this season. McCarthy and Stewart both reached double-digit goals in just the fifth game of the 2021 campaign. McCarthy currently sits seventh all-time in program history with 53 goals. He needs three scores for sole possession of fifth. Quinn scored his 50th career goal in the win and sits behind Stewart in eighth all-time. Stewart leads the team with 14 points while McCarthy and Quinn each have 12. Stewart has attempted 24 shots this season and placed an impressive 16 (66.7 percent) on goal. Quinn recorded an assist in the match and overtook Stewart for the team lead with five helpers. Wood surpassed 220 career ground balls. Kelley recorded 10 saves between the pipes. He has reached double-digit saves in each of Mercer's last three contests. Quinn is one save away from making his 100th career stop. He is fifth all-time in program history. UP NEXT Mercer will travel to No. 1 North Carolina next Saturday for a 2 p.m. battle. The Bears and Tar Heels will do battle from UNC's Dorrance Field.