Maddie Moran

Sports Editor

BEREA, Ohio ––– On Saturday, Feb. 22, the Wooster women’s lacrosse team travelled to Baldwin Wallace University (BW) to face off against the Yellow Jackets in their first game of the season. After starting the first quarter of the game in a 2-1 deficit, the Scots rallied back ten-fold to knock out Baldwin Wallace, 19-7.

Kenzie Morris ’25 was the first on the field to score, just over 4 minutes into the game, but was quickly matched with a BW goal around the 10-minute mark. The Yellow Jackets kept stinging as they netted another goal around 8:20 that caught the attention of the Fighting Scots.

“We had a slow start, but once attack got its footing and we got into a rhythm, there was no stopping us,” Morris said.

Wooster went on a 3-goal run with 2 back-to-back man-up goals from Brynne Snaguski ’26 — the first assisted by Morris — and the third in the run from Bella Woodbury ’26. Wooster held off any attempts by the Jackets and closed out the period, 4-2.

The second quarter began with a draw control by Sidney O’Rourke ’26 leading to a collegiate first goal for newcomer Rowan Pilon ’28 within the minute. Morris was charged with a green card and a foul was called against O’Rourke, giving Baldwin Wallace an opening to put themselves back in the game. 

The Jackets narrowed the score with a man-up free position goal to 5-3, which was the closest score they held for the remainder of the game.

Shortly after, Snaguski scored a third goal, leading to a frustrated timeout by Baldwin Wallace. Wooster kept piling it on in the second period with back-to-back goals from Kaitlyn McBride ’25 at 8:35 and another just over a minute later at 7:24.

BW scored once more, but Morris returned the favor with a man-up free position goal, keeping the Scots’ lead at 5 goals. After some back and forth, Sophia Mellis ’26 found the back of the net with an assist from Snaguski, bringing the score to 10-4.

Lizzie Hardy ’26 rounded out the Scots scorers in the first half of the game with a free position goal at 1:50. The Yellow Jackets hadn’t given up quite yet, mustering up 1 last goal of the period, which was the last goal they scored until the fourth quarter. 

Wooster started the second half strong with a draw control by Ashlyn Casey ’25 and a goal from Madelyn Noll ’25. The formidable defense after the goal included a BW turnover forced by Lexi Sarne ’25 and players running after every ground ball. The Scots kept pushing and Morris snagged yet another goal, her third of the day. Another goal by Mellis, assisted by Morris, brought the score to 14-5.

“It felt good to be out there again,” said Casey. “No one was new on defense but we haven’t played together in a long time, so it was awesome to be back out there with my girls.”

Following the goal was a draw control by O’Rourke and a turnover by McBride, which was quickly recovered and led to her third goal of the game. This was followed not long after by a fourth goal from Snaguski, assisted by Noelle Melgar ’26, to wrap up the third period, 16-5.

In no time, Morris netted a fourth goal of the game but was matched by a Yellow Jacket to keep the lead at 11 goals. A draw control by Hardy and a green card against the Jackets gave Priya Nehria ’26 the perfect opportunity to score a collegiate first, assisted by Noll.

Pilon’s second goal at 4:56, assisted by Snaguski, rounded out the Fighting Scots’ 19 points, while Baldwin Wallace snuck one more in to bring the final score to 19-7. Defensively, goalie Audrey Richardson ’27 is credited with the win, featuring 5 key saves. Sarne led the team in ground balls and O’Rourke hit a career milestone of 100 draw controls.

“It was great to start out the season with such a big win and awesome to play with our new people,” Morris said.

The Scots will host the Hope College Flying Dutch this Saturday, Mar. 1 at 11 a.m.