Taylor Sikich
Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster women’s lacrosse team came out firing with a 5-3 lead early in the first half over rival Wittenberg University, but despite the strong start, Wittenberg persevered and defeated the Scots 20-15 on Thursday, April 13 in Springfield, Oh.
However, captain Heather Szymanski ’17 hit a collegiate career milestone when she scored her 100th career goal with only 1 second remaining in the game. Szymanski also leads the team with 38 goals.
Wooster (9-3, 2-2 NCAC) came out strong with a different player scoring each of the Scot’s first five goals. Wittenberg (9-5, 3-2 NCAC) tied the game up, but Jordan Stone ’19 and Laura Papp ’19 soon responded by tallying two more goals for the Scots. From there, Wittenberg went on a scoring streak as the Tigers scored 10 straight goals taking a considerable lead with only 22:33 left to play in the game.
The Scots refused to give up; Wooster scored four out of the next five goals to make the score 17-13. However, the Tigers’ offense remained vigorous as they scored two more times in response to Wooster’s own streak. Final goals from Papp and Szymanksi came in the last three minutes, but the Tigers prevailed and claimed the 20-15 victory. Szymanski finished with five goals, while Laura Papp finished with three goals. Jenny Grossman ’20 and Stone had two goals each. Goalkeeper Emma Hambright ’20 finished with 11 saves.
Later in the week, The College of Wooster men’s lacrosse battled Wittenberg University as they hosted the Tigers at John P. Papp Stadium to celebrate “Senior Day.” The Scots recently clinched a spot in the top-four of the conference standings after a recent victory over DePauw University which saw them attain a record of 5-0 in conference. The top-four position ensured the team a position in the conference tournament after the season ends.
The Scots started the game strong, but the Tigers dominated with a 7-1 second-half run that led them to win the contest 13-7.
Each of the three active seniors tallied points for the Fighting Scots (9-7, 5-2 NCAC). Josh Herold ’20 scored two goals and four assists and moved into a tie for third-place all-time in the program’s career assists category with 96. CJ Polak ’17 ended the game with two goals while Matt Parmelee ’17 had an assist.
Wittenberg (8-5, 5-2 NCAC) scored first, but Wooster quickly countered with four straight goals. Polak tallied the first two goals, as Herold assisted on both. Herold then went on to assist Nathaniel Miller ’18. Miller scored only minutes later on an assist from Ian Brim ’18. The Scots ended the first period winning 4-1, but the Tigers responded with four goals in the second period to tie the game at half. Sam Kuhn ’18 scored the only goal for the Scots in the second period.
In the third period, Tigers took the lead for the first time, but Parmelee responded minutes later by assisting Herold to even the score. However, the Tigers went on a relentless streak as they scored seven goals to Wooster’s one in the second half, which led the Tigers to clinch the 13-7 victory. Next, Wooster takes on Ohio Wesleyan University (8-4, 5-0 NCAC) on April 22 in Delaware, Oh.
Following that, the Scots will play in the NCAC tournament, with times, dates and opponents yet to be confirmed.