GAMBIER, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's lacrosse team turned it on late to pull away from Kenyon College in Wednesday's 14-8 win at the Field at Benson Bowl.
Wooster (14-1, 4-0 North Coast Athletic Conference), a winner of 10 straight, and Kenyon (5-8, 1-3 NCAC) were tied at seven at halftime and the Fighting Scots' lead was just 9-8 after three. That quickly changed in the fourth, where Wooster scored five goals as part of its 6-0 game-ending run.
Junior Lizzie Hardy's goal with 2:38 remaining in the third period broke Wednesday's 8-8 tie. Classmate Brynne Snaguski accounted for two of the Scots' five fourth-period goals.
Wooster held Kenyon to six possessions in the fourth quarter, aided by winning five of the period's six draw controls. Sophomore Audrey Richardson stopped a pair of free-position shots on the Owls' first possession of the fourth period, while Hardy cleaned up the groundball following the second save. Later, senior Kaitlyn McBride's caused turnover on Mallory Brophy leading to a senior Kenzie Morris groundball pickup. Kenyon turned the ball over on its final two possessions of the game.
Wooster earned its advantages through a 17-8 dominance on draw controls. Hardy's 10 marked a season-high for the junior and gave her a career-high 94. Hardy joined alumna Megan Healy as the only Scots with multiple 90-draw controls seasons in program history, and the current junior surpassed 250 draw controls for her career.
Junior Sidney O'Rourke and Morris won the Scots' other seven draw controls on the day. O'Rourke's four moved the junior within six of a top-10 spot in season program history.
The play of Kenyon goalkeeper Nola Garand kept the Owls in the game. Garand made 17 saves, seven of which came in the second quarter. The seven saves in the second enabled the Owls to outscore the Scots 5-1 for the stanza and pull level at seven come halftime.
Junior Sophia Mellis and Snaguski scored three goals each for Wooster. McBride, this week's NCAC Athlete of the Week, finished with three points on two assists and a goal. O'Rourke added six groundballs to the four draw controls, while Hardy was next in groundballs at four. Richardson finished with six saves, with four coming in the second half.
Blythe Karras and Spencer Kirsch scored two goals each for Kenyon. Cecily Torres was credited with four caused turnovers and six groundballs.
Wooster more than doubled up Kenyon on shots at 44-20. Groundballs were more even, with the Scots having a slim 22-21 edge.
Next, Wooster is at Wittenberg University (4-8, 0-3 NCAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 19.
