Julia Garrison
News Editor
LATROBE, Pa. ––– The Fighting Scots men’s lacrosse squad hit the road on Feb. 22 to pick up the team’s first win of the season over the Saint Vincent College Bearcats, with a final score of 12-9. The team took on Saint Vincent at home last season during their faculty appreciation game with a similar outcome: toppling the Bearcats with a score of 18-7.
Before hitting the field in Latrobe, midfielder Will Fink ’25 received preseason All-American honors from Nike Lacrosse. Players from Denison, Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan also appeared on Nike’s list.
Kevin O’Brien-Bruno also joined the men’s lacrosse coaching staff earlier this semester and will work with the team as a defensive specialist. A graduate of Utica College, O’Brien-Bruno played defense for their NCAA Division III squad.
Saint Vincent won the first faceoff to start off Saturday’s game, but any chances at a shot were blocked by two consecutive saves from newcomer Case Lowery ’28 in goal.
Between the pipes, Lowery made the start and played all 60 minutes for the Scots, logging the win. Lowery recorded 12 saves on the day and finished with 57% save percentage –– making Lowery’s performance the fifth highest in saves in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) very early on in the season.
With the Scots down 0-1 in the first quarter, Fink received a penalty that allowed the Bearcats to score another while the Scots were a man down. Following the Bearcats’ goal, faceoff specialist Owen Bosland ’26 won his first faceoff of the season and the game –– providing the Scots with a quick getaway down the offensive line to put one behind Saint Vincent’s keeper, making the score 2-1 in the Bearcats’ favor. The goal was Rowan Piani’s ’26 first of the season, assisted by Lane Kellogg ’26.
After breaking the ice with their first goal, the Scots continued to chip away at the Bearcats, evening the score to 4-2 at the end of the first quarter — leaving the Bearcats scoreless after the Scots gained momentum.
Wooster started the second half in a man up situation due to a technical penalty on a Saint Vincent player for usage of illegal equipment and capitalized on the situation — sinking a goal from Austin Jourde ’26 off an assist from Rory Zahren ’25.
Saint Vincent quickly answered by ending their 10 minute scoring drought in another man up situation from a holding penalty — but lost their footing, unable to score against the Scots for another quarter, accounting for over 17 minutes of playing time. In the time that the Bearcats attempted to put shots behind Lowery, Wooster added 4 more goals to their tally, increasing the score to 8-3. Jourde, John Lloyd ’27, Kellogg and John Allen Ginder ’27 accounted for the 4 goals.
Saint Vincent put 2 goals on the board without a reply from the Scots near the end of the third quarter, closing the gap to 9-5. A clutch save from Lowery with a key connection to the Scots’ offense allowed Piani to rip another behind the Bearcats in the final seconds of the third quarter — increasing the deficit to 10-5.
Although the Bearcats made an effort to topple the Scots in the fourth quarter by adding 3 more goals to the score, the Scots answered with 2 more — ending the game with a 12-9 win on Saturday. The final score was the Scots’ first win and the Bearcats’ second loss. The Bearcats also fell to Ohio Northern University in their home opener.
“[It was] good to get our first win in the books regardless of how we got it done,” Kellogg said. Kellogg finished the day at the top of the leaderboard in goals with 3. Ginder, Piani and Jourde both accounted for 2, while Zahren, Fink and Lloyd finished with 1 apiece.
Led by Lowery on the defensive end, the Scots went 21 for 23 in clear attempts — while Saint Vincent went 17 for 24. The squad also finished with 24 ground balls collectively to the Bearcats’ 23. This effort was led by Bill Holtzer ’25, Cooper Nichols ’26 and Sutton Ursillo ’26 with 4 ground balls apiece.
“Great start to this season and I’m excited to see what the future has in store,” Holtzer said. “It’s awesome to see the amount of young talent we have on the field this year along with our returners coming back even stronger.”
The men’s lacrosse squad will return to action at home to face off against John Carroll University on March 1 at 2 p.m. at John P. Papp Stadium.
