Ben Blotner
Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster men’s lacrosse team saw its first action of the season in a scrimmage at Walsh University on Saturday. The scrimmage, which does not count in the regular season saw the Scots fight hard but ultimately fall to the Walsh Cavaliers by a score of 15-13. Student Assistant Nick Gargaro ’20 is optimistic about the team’s performance. “After only a week of practice, the team looked good today: energy was high and it was a fun game.” Gargaro said. “A slow start and a few key missed calls kept us from winning the game, but we believe that we only scratched the surface of our team’s potential today.”
Midfielder Cooper Pewitt ’20 led the way for the Scots’ offense with five goals, while Drake Nickolaison ’22 and Shaun Peirce ’21 contributed two apiece. Ryan You ’23, Ted Wells ’21, Tyler Schroeder ’22 and Joe Citera ’22 each added goals as well. As for assists, midfielder Cullen Kuhn ’20 paced the team with three, while Nickolaison had two. Pewitt, You, Wells and Connor Mangan ’21 also recorded assists. “I thought the scrimmage was productive for us, as a lot of younger guys got their first real taste of playing another team,” Kuhn said. “For being only a week of practicing into our season, I thought there were a lot of positives we could take from the scrimmage, but there was also a lot to learn from.”
After a slow start, the Scots rallied back and took the lead inthelaterpartofthegame before Walsh came back. Like Kuhn, defenseman Rob Driscoll ’20 believes the expe- rience was valuable to the team and its prospects for the young season.
“I thought it was a great first test for us as a team,” Driscoll said. “Walsh was a big physical team, which gave us the opportunity to test ourselves a lot on the defensive side of the field. After falling behind in the first half, we were able to make several stops and cash in some really nice goals to jump ahead in the second half. For being one week into practice, I think it really motivated the team and will propel us to the level we all believe the team is capable of.” Along with its strong offensive performance, the team’s defense and other specialized players looked solid as well. “Our three senior defensemen [Noah Plot- kin ’20, Caelan Doherty ’20 and Driscoll] led by senior captain Wes Wagner [’20] anchored the team on the defensive front,”Gargaro said. “Freshman face off specialist Olayinka Jimba [’23] played a strong and poised game with help from his teammates Rob Hunt [’20] and Dillion Chip- man [’21].”
Wagner, the team’s goal- keeper, agrees that facing a strong opponent in a practice game will lead to better results down the road.
“It was a great first test for our team,” he said. “We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted, but we will learn from it and get better as a team. There are a lot of positives, and our team has a very high potential this year. It was good to play a quality opponent before we play our first game next Saturday. A lot of guys got solid playing time, which is great experience for our team.”
The Scots will try to build off the positives from this scrimmage as they begin the regular season.
The Scots face Albion College at the Detroit Country Day School in Michigan at 9 p.m., on Feb 8.