Henry Schneiderman
Sports Editor
Last Saturday, April 26, John P. Papp stadium ignited in a burst of excitement as the Fighting Scots men’s lacrosse team took on the Wabash College Little Giants in their Senior Day game. Serving as the final match of a regular season characterized by hard work and determination, the matchup against the Little Giants proved the final obstacle in maintaining a positive record for the regular season. Coming off the heels of a dominating 22-1 performance against Hiram College the day before, the Scots hoped to continue on their path to victory by cutting the Little Giants down to size. By the day’s conclusion, Wooster stood tall with an assertive 12-6 victory over Wabash.
The game opened in Wooster’s favor as the Scots took the early lead off a Jack Holub ’28 finish that was assisted by Riley Schulze ’25. The team’s momentum continued minutes later as Will Fink ’25 sent one past the Little Giants’ goalkeeper to double their lead before Lane Kellogg ’26 extended the tally off an assist from Colton Beaudoin ’25, placing the score at 3-0. Wooster’s streak didn’t stop there, as Rory Zahren ’25 placed in another goal off a Kellogg assist. Holub rounded out the first quarter with his second goal of the game to place the score at an assertive 5-0.
The Scots continued their winning ways in the second quarter as they opened the period of play with an unassisted Schulze finish to stretch the lead 6-0. Wabash then quenched their scoring drought a minute later; this did not deter the Scots’ offense, however, as Kellogg delivered another score off an assist from Beaudoin shortly after. The Little Giants found the back of the net once more before the half as they sent one past the Scots’ defense with just over 10 minutes to play in the quarter. Wooster responded fiercely as Fink buried 2 more — one of which came off an assist from Kellogg — before the whistle to leave the score 9-2 going into the half.
The game’s second half told much the same story as the first, with Wooster immediately commanding the field of play. Holub scored 2 goals off assists from Jesse Fisher ’28 and Kellogg, respectively. This effort was answered by Wabash, who scored the period’s final goal just seconds later.
The fourth quarter proved to be Wabash’s best as they came out firing with 2 goals in the period’s first 3 minutes of play. This push was responded to by Fink, who netted his fourth of the day — an effort serving as the Scots’ final score — shortly after. Wabash managed one more goal before the quarter’s conclusion but their sudden form proved to be too little too late as the period’s conclusion left the Scots with a dominant 12-6 victory. “The win on senior day felt fantastic,” Kellogg said. “It was great to secure a playoff spot and three more days to play lacrosse with the fellas. Mostly, it felt good to get a great win and honor our seniors on their day.”
This result claimed the Scots a place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) tournament and came as the result of a number of highlight performances. Kellogg walked all over the Little Giants defense, giving out 3 assists and scoring twice to become the fifth player in the program’s history to surpass 200 career points. Fink and Holub also showed out offensively as they grabbed 4 goals apiece. Domenic Cuda ’28 locked the defensive line down by cleaning up numerous ground balls and causing 4 turnovers.
This effort was aided by Bill Holtzer ’25 who collected a team high 10 ground balls of his own. In the net, Case Lowery ’28 proved a near-unpassable force as he grabbed 13 saves on the night for the eighth double-digit save performance of his collegiate career. Overall, Wooster dominated on both sides of the field, outshooting Wabash 41-30 and collecting 48 ground balls to the Little Giants’ 31.
“It felt incredible to get the win on Senior Day. It was a special moment for all of us, especially for the seniors who’ve put in years of hard work and dedication,” Lowery said. “The energy on the field was electric, and getting that win made the day even more meaningful.”
When reflecting on the game, many players highlighted the team’s utilization of tactics from practices in their success. “A message all week at practice was to stay loose and have fun,” Kellogg said. “We executed this on Saturday and came out with a nice win.”
This sentiment was echoed by Lowery who said, “Throughout the week, we focused on tightening up our defensive rotations and making sure our clears were efficient. Those adjustments really paid off during the game where we were able to control possession and stay composed under pressure, which made a big difference.”
With this result, the Fighting Scots have concluded the regular season 9-7 and 5-3 within the NCAC and grabbed the third seed for the upcoming conference tournament. By this article’s publication, the team will have played Denison in the semi-finals of the NCAC tournament and continued their campaign accordingly. No matter the result, congratulations to the team on a successful season. Go Scots!
