GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team outlasted DePauw University for a 14-11 North Coast Athletic Conference victory inside Reavis Stadium on Saturday.
DePauw (5-8, 2-4 NCAC) jumped out to a 4-1 advantage after one period of play, sandwiching a goal from first-year Jack Holub with a pair of small 2-0 runs. Wooster (7-6, 3-2 NCAC) made it a new game by scoring three quick goals to open the second frame, including two from junior Rowan Piani. The remainder of the half was tightly contested with three more ties, even though the Fighting Scots ultimately held a 6-3 scoring advantage.
Defense was the name of the third quarter as both team's back lines slowed the game down. Sophomore John Lloyd finally broke through the stalemate with a man-up goal at the 6:59 mark, but DePauw had an answer just over a minute later for the game's fifth tie. Junior Lane Kellogg and Lloyd gave the Scots their biggest lead of the game at two when the third-quarter horn sounded.
The Tigers scored less than a minute into the final frame, cutting the Wooster lead in half. The Scots had a number of scoring opportunities in the next four and a half minutes until senior Bill Holtzer and sophomore Jesse Fisher built up the lead. Three goals proved to be enough to withstand any potential DePauw comeback, as the Scots eventually cruised to a 14-11 victory.
Holub recorded his third career hat trick to lead the Scots offensively. Lloyd and Fisher both had breakout games, scoring multiple goals for the first time in their Wooster careers with two goals each. Kellogg was all over the offensive half of the field with a pair of goals and a season-high four assists. First-year Domenic Cuda continues to lead the Wooster defense with a collegiate-high and game-high 15 groundballs and trio of caused turnovers.
DePauw was led by senior Henry White with a game-best four goals. Senior Beckett Tasker chipped in a hat trick of his own while sophomore Jack Neff facilitated the offense, matching Kellogg with a game-high four assists. First-year Brody Carlson led the Tiger defense with eight groundballs and two caused turnovers.
First-year Case Lowery only had to make one save in the win while his Tiger counterpart, junior Anthony Reinhardt was busy, making 19 saves in the loss.
Wooster had its best outing in the faceoff department of late, winning 21-of-29 for its highest win percentage since mid-March. Senior Rory Zahren won 16-of-22 faceoffs with eight groundballs while junior Owen Bosland and senior Cody Mox were a combined 5-of-7. In addition to faceoff wins, the Scots also held a decisive advantage in shots (55-29), shots on goal (33-12), groundballs (54-39) and clear percentage (13-of-16 compared to 18-of-29). Turnovers and caused turnovers were a little more evenly matched with the Scots still ahead of the Tigers 20-25 and 18-13, respectively.
Wooster will hit the road one final time in the regular season on Wednesday, April 23, to take on Ohio Wesleyan University (10-3, 5-0 NCAC) at 7 p.m. inside Selby Stadium.
