Lincoln Plews
Senior Sports Writer
After a solid 9-6 record in 2013 and a loss in the conference semifinals, the men’s lacrosse team is hoping to ride the wave of a strong core of returning contributors and new freshman talent all the way to the conference championship this year.
“After a third-place finish in conference last year, we aren’t satisfied,” said midfielder Patch Henderson ’15. “We really want to win the NCAC and the conference tournament at the end of the season to get an automatic bid to the NCAAs.”
The Scots will surely face some obstacles on their road to the NCAA tournament. There will be tough in-conference competition from 10th ranked Denison University and the returning champion Ohio Wesleyan.
Another challenge will be filling the role of former leading goal-scorer Matt Ranck ’13. Ranck spear-headed the offense in his senior year, tallying up 37 goals and 10 assists. Expected to step into his role offensively will be attackman Tom Herold ’15, second on the team in total points last year with 25 goals and 13 assists, as well as all-NCAC honorable mention midfielder PJ Dallman ’15.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Scots will have two returning first-team all-conference players in junior Sean Hohan ’15 and goalkeeper Matt Magoon ’14. Magoon returns for his senior season as a fourth year starter, giving the Scots a consistent presence in the net that will be key to their success. Other returning players who received all-conference mentions last year include midfielders Dean Marchitelli ’14 and Max Rubin ’15.
The Scots were known as a relatively young team in their past few seasons, but this potential talent is expected to pay off this year as nearly all core contributors from last year return another year older and more experienced.
This depth will play a big role in the Scots’ game plan this year, and also creates a lot of healthy competition for playing time. “We are returning tons of guys who have been contributing in past seasons, so having that depth is a big change,” said Henderson. “Also, we don’t actually have a depth chart this year. Whoever plays hard in practice is going to get time in games.”
The Scots plan to play a fast paced game, taking advantage of their talent and depth to out-work the competition. “We have been focusing on our transition game a lot,” said Henderson. “Riding and clearing is a big point of emphasis for us, and everything we do has to be fast.”
Wooster kicked off their season with a 10-3 win over Mount Union University this past Thursday. Their first in-conference test will be against nationally ranked Denison University at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.
