Henry Schneiderman
Sports Editor
Last Saturday, April 12, the Fighting Scots men’s lacrosse team ventured to Gambier, Ohio to take on the Kenyon Owls in an important conference matchup. Following a narrow 12-11 defeat against Oberlin last week that placed them 1-1 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play, the Scots hoped to tame the Owls and reclaim a positive record. After a hard-fought game, Wooster found victory in Gambier as the team toppled the Owls, 13-8.
The game began in Wooster’s favor as John Allan Ginder ’27 tucked a shot away in the opening 2 minutes. This effort was followed a minute later by Rowan Piani ’26, doubling the team’s score off an assist from Lane Kellogg ’26 to give the Scots an early 2-0 lead. Undeterred, Kenyon responded with 2 of their own to tie the draw before Will Crane ’25 and Kellogg each scored, leaving the score 4-2 by the end of the first quarter.
“Everyone on the offense really committed to our game plan and executed it,” Ginder said. “That came from a great week of practice where everyone was on the same page.”
Wooster came out strong in the second quarter as Ginder fired a shot past Kenyon 30 seconds in to extend the team’s commanding lead, 5-2. The score remained stagnant for a moment as each team’s defense proved impenetrable until a Kenyon player snuck through and collected the team’s first goal of the quarter. Wooster remained composed, channeling an incredible sequence of plays that saw the Scots amass 4 goals in a row from Piani, Ginder, Rory Zahren ’25 and Jack Holub ’27, respectively. Going into the half, Wooster held a steady 9-3 lead.
“Our offense came out hot and — with the couple injuries we have suffered to key offensive personnel this season — we have really had some guys take their game to the next level,” defender Domenic Cuda ’28 said.
The second half proved a much stiffer competition as the Owls were unwilling to let Wooster extend their lead. Quarter 3 began as Will Fink ’25 placed another in the Owls’ net — an effort immediately opposed, however, with a Kenyon score just 6 seconds later. Following this goal, the statline remained unchanged for much of the quarter’s duration until an unassisted Riley Schulze ’25 finish placed the Scots another goal ahead. This prompted a fiery response from the home team, who netted 1 of their own less than a minute later to keep the game a 6-goal difference.
The final quarter remained quiet until 2 Wooster goals from Piani and Holub opened the period’s scoring and concluded the Scots’ offensive efforts for the day. Kenyon attempted a late game comeback with 3 goals in the game’s final 4 minutes — however, this effort proved too little, too late as the Scots walked away victorious with a final score of 13-8.
“Going into the game, we knew Kenyon was a very good, defensive-minded team,” Piani said. “Coach Seideman prepared us all week with a strong game plan, so we went into the game confident and prepared. Throughout the game we were able to play with confidence and joy. It was a full team effort, everyone executed their role and stayed locked in.”
Wooster’s victory in Gambier proved important for the team as they reclaimed their positive NCAC record and demonstrated their capabilities with a win over a strong team.
“Beating Kenyon is now one of my favorite memories of all time,” Kellogg said. “The feeling was unreal, and I couldn’t be happier for the seniors who helped carry us through this game to beat a team we haven’t beat since 2018.”
This result came from the team’s collective efforts and included a number of highlight performances. Notably, Ginder’s offensive prowess led to his first collegiate hat-trick, while Piani’s knack for goal saw him amass a hat trick of his own. Holub grabbed 2 on the night to conclude Wooster’s list of repeat scorers. On the back line, Cuda commanded the team’s defensive efforts with a team-leading 9 ground balls and 5 caused turnovers — an effort combined with Bill Holtzer ’25, who had 3 ground balls and 5 caused turnovers of his own. In the net, Case Lowery ’28 collected 12 stops to grab his fifth career game of double digit saves. With this result, the Scots progressed to 2-1 in the NCAC and hope to continue their winning ways moving forward.
“As of recently, we have put together our best games of the season,” Kellogg said. “We have to use this momentum to continue to grow as a team going into the end of our season, as we now have put the NCAC on alert.”
The Fighting Scots will continue their campaign this Saturday, April 19, as they travel to Greencastle, Indiana to take on the DePauw Tigers at 12 p.m. Go Scots!
