Clare Nelson-Johnson

The College of Wooster's offense erupted for four goals in the first half, with three coming off the stick of Clare Nelson-Johnson, and the Scots then used that cushion to ease past Kenyon College 5-2 in a pivotal North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey match-up Tuesday afternoon at Gambier, Ohio.

The Ladies (8-9, 7-6 NCAC) got on the scoreboard first just 1:23 into the action, but the Scots (9-8, 8-5 NCAC) halted their momentum and turned the tide about midway through the half.

Nelson-Johnson got her hat trick started with an unassisted goal at the 13:06 mark, and less than two minutes later, she beat the 'keeper on an assist from Nikki Sever to give Wooster a 2-1 lead. The Scots added two more scores later in the half, as Nelson-Johnson chipped in her third, again courtesy of a Sever helper, and then Sever added her own goal during a penalty corner off a quick flick from Nelson-Johnson that pushed the advantage to 4-1.

Kenyon and Wooster traded goals in the second half, with Kate Brondyk rattling the cage for the Scots on yet another Sever assist – her third of the game. Sever leads the NCAC with 14 assists.

The Ladies actually outshot the Scots by a narrow 14-13 margin, but Liz Plumley made eight saves to help minimize the damage.

The Scots will look to solidify an NCAC Tournament berth when they host Oberlin College (4-9, 3-9 NCAC) on Saturday at 11 a.m.