Henry Schneiderman
Sports Editor
Last Saturday, March 3, the Fighting Scots men’s lacrosse team traveled to University Heights, Ohio to take on the John Carroll Blue Streaks in their first away match of the year. Following a dominant opening to the season that saw Wooster amass a three-game win streak over Otterbein University (14-10), Saint Vincent College (18-7) and Westminster College (17-10), the Scots hoped to continue their conquest. John Carroll University is slated to become an official member of the NCAC in the upcoming 2025-26 season — leaving Wooster with a thirst for victory as they aimed to demonstrate to the new competition why they were one of the NCAC’s top teams last season.
The match began in Wooster’s favor as Lane Kellogg ’26 opened scoring for the Scots with an unassisted finish two minutes into play. However, John Carroll did not take lightly to this advance. They retaliated with an uninterrupted 4-0 scoring run that left Wooster at a 4-1 deficit upon the first quarter’s conclusion.
Going into the second quarter, the Scots refused to lose morale as Will Fink ’25 slotted two goals away to bring the score to 4-3. Five minutes later, John Carroll responded by tucking one away before Logan Hyatt ’26 scored with 30 seconds remaining in the half — making the score 5-4.
Coming out of the break, Wooster lost its momentum as the Blue Streaks generated a 3-0 scoring run. The team’s scoring drought was broken with a finish by Seth Owens ’24 before being halted by another John Carroll goal. The fourth quarter proved efficient for the Scots as the team tucked away three goals. Kellogg added to his tally before Fink found the score sheet twice more off assists from Vinny DiLeo ’24 and Ben Byars ’24. These efforts left Wooster just short of the mark as John Carroll scored an additional four goals throughout the fourth quarter to leave the score 13-8 in their favor.
Despite the result, Wooster’s efforts in University Heights led to a number of highlight performances from the team. Fink led the way for the Scots as he scored Wooster’s first hat trick on the road this season; Kellogg aided the effort by putting forth a strong two goal contribution. Casey Steffen ’24, Jimmy Fisher ’24, Paul Chandler ’24 and Owens commanded the team’s defensive effort with a combined 16 ground balls with each player grabbing 4. Steffen, Kellogg and Bill Holtzer ’25 also each amassed two caused turnovers, providing the Scots with numerous additional possessions.
Additionally, Chandler put forth a strong defensive effort in net as he recorded four saves to keep the Scots in the game. DiLeo reflected on the importance of practice in achieving these stats. “Our coaches do an excellent job of incorporating game-time scenarios into our practices,” DiLeo said. “Whether it’s late-game situations, strategies for faceoffs, clearing, or fast breaks, these drills prepare us for when these situations arise in games.” He then optimistically reflected on the match as an opportunity to grow. “We use every game as a learning tool and as a way to improve as a team,” DiLeo said. “We look forward to our next game against Mount Union.”
The Fighting Scots will return to action as they host the Mount Union Raiders at home on Saturday, March 9.
