Anna Hartig
Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster men’s lacrosse team started off their season against Albion College last Saturday in Detroit, Mich. While the Fighting Scots lost, 13-11, the team is looking at the rest of the season with a positive outlook.
“We had a very challenging and productive preseason, which may have led us to go into our first game a bit too confident,” Captain Matt Parmelee ’17 said. “The loss will allow us to refocus and sheds light on aspects of our game that we can improve on.”
The Scots kept the score close with hat tricks from both Josh Herold ’17 and Nathaniel Miller ’18. Sam Kuhn ’18 also responded to Albion’s quick lead with two goals within just a couple minutes of the start of the game. Other goals were scored by CJ Polak ’17 and Luke Liljenstolpe ’20.
Players put in a lot of hard work in the off-season which led to an effective preseason.
“The team took advantage of the warmer than usual weather to get outside early and prepare ourselves for a high tempo style of play,” said face-off specialist Erik Barroso ’18. Last Saturday’s game against Albion also allowed the team to gain more game experience which should lead to a more successful season. First years also used this early season game to get adjusted to playing at the college level.
With 15 first years joining this season, the team has a lot of new talent that the team hopes will contribute to a strong performance in conference.
While many of these players experienced their first collegiate game against Albion, Nick Gargaro ’20 said, “The [first-years’] quick success is a testament to the growth of the team and an insight into how the team will hopefully continue to look in the future.”
Talent ranges across the board as some individuals who are now in their second or third year of playing lacrosse are starting to take important roles in the leadership of the team.
This leadership along with a strong skill set should lead the Fighting Scots straight to success. “We were able to make the tournament last season, but lost to Denison in the semifinals,” Parmelee said. “So the hope is to warrant a better result this season.” The Scots will face Denison in late April at home for an intense rematch of last year’s conference semifinal.
Wooster men’s lacrosse team will be back in action against John Carroll University on Saturday, Feb. 25 at noon. “We are looking to bounce back from a hard loss against Albion, sharpen up some of the little details and get ready for our next game against John Carroll,” said Barroso.
While next weekend’s game is held at John Carroll University, the team is hoping for lots of support for the rest of the upcoming season at home games. Make sure to attend to the first home game on March 18 against Wabash College.