Thomas Pitney
Sports Editor
On Saturday, April 9, the Wooster Fighting Scots’ women’s lacrosse team faced a familiar, fierce rival, the Wittenberg University Tigers, in front of their home fans at John P. Papp Stadium. Wooster came into this game with a dominant 10-1 overall record while the Tigers entered the game with a 5-6 record. As CC Dent ’22 put it, the Scots hoped to build on its positive momentum to overcome their hated rival. “Our goal as a team was to come out and have fun during that game and I know we did just that. When we’re having fun out there it makes it so much easier to do a good job and hold each other up.” Dent’s hopes were realized, as the Scots dominated from the opening face-off and coasted to a 15-2 win.
From the start of the first quarter, the Scots made it clear as to why they had accumulated a 10-1 record. After Dent saved a Wittenberg shot attempt, Hannah Shaw ’23 launched a shot past the Wittenberg goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give the Scots a 1-0 lead just two-and-a-half minutes into the game. After her first score, Shaw continued to dictate the game, as 41 seconds later, she had won the draw control and scored again to make it 2-0 in favor of Wooster.
Following this goal, the Tigers and Scots traded possessions without scoring until Ciara O’Connor ’24 took advantage of a Wittenberg foul and subsequent free position shot to increase the Wooster advantage to 3-0 with 9:36 remaining in the quarter. Not even 20 seconds later, Caitlyn O’Connor ’22 got in on the fun and notched another goal to stretch the lead to 4-0. After another five minutes of play, Britta Treu ’23 made a free position shot to make the score 5-0. With 3:17 to go in the quarter, Shaw made perhaps her most impressive goal to tack another goal on Wooster’s side. Shaw credited the goal to strong teamwork, saying that “one of our first years, Kenzie Morris, had the assist and I specifically remember moving to get open as she passed the ball to me inside the eight.” One minute later, Kenzie Smith ’24 capped off the Scots’ dominant quarter with a goal to give Wooster a 7-0 advantage.
The second quarter featured more of the same: Wooster’s relentless offensive attack on the Tigers. Ciara O’Connor made the first strike of the quarter, scoring with 13:43 remaining to make it 8-0. Other Scots that stood out in the second quarter were Kenzie Morris ’25, who scored her 31st goal of the season, Caitlyn O’Connor, who scored her 22nd goal of the season and Morris, who scored her 32nd goal of the season. When the whistle blew signaling the end of the first half, the barrage of scores culminated in an 11-0 Wooster halftime lead.
Although the Scots held an overwhelming lead going into the second half, they did not let the foot off the gas. Jill Murray ’23 made the opening strike of the third quarter to further expand the lead to 12-0. With 3:42 remaining in the third quarter, Wittenberg finally got on the board, as the Tigers’ Grace Kennedy ’24 scored after being fouled by Wooster. Just over a minute later, the Tigers struck again to close the gap to 12-2. Despite Wittenberg grasping some momentum in the third, Treu stole it right back by scoring with just 11 seconds left to give Wooster a 13-2 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was marked by a defensive struggle. Although both teams had several possessions, neither could capitalize for the first 12 minutes of the quarter. With 3:18 remaining in the game, Anna Truong ’23 broke the ice with a goal to expand the lead to 14-2. Shaw put an exclamation point on the Scots’ terrific performance with her fourth goal of the game and 28th of the season with 47 seconds remaining.
The team was extremely proud of its performance, as the Scots completely overwhelmed Wittenberg on the field. Reflecting on Wooster’s strong start to the season, Shaw said “it was definitely a huge confidence booster to start the season off so strong. It felt good to have many wins before moving into conference play.” Dent, who did not allow a single goal in the game, is excited for what the rest of this season brings. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and I know we can hold the same energy that we’ve created in previous games. It’s been awesome to form this culture and community during my last season here, [a culture] that I know will lead the team to ultimate success in years to come.”
Come out and support your Fighting Scots as they hope to continue their winning ways when they host Allegheny College at John P. Papp Stadium on Wednesday, April 20!