Nikki Sever

WOOSTER, Ohio – With an exciting 5-3 victory over archrival Wittenberg University, The College of Wooster put itself in better position to earn a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament berth, and also secured long-time head coach Brenda Meese's 400th career collegiate win, as the Fighting Scots powered past the Tigers on Saturday afternoon at John P. Papp Stadium.

Meese becomes just the seventh in NCAA Div. III history, and the 15th among all divisions to reach the 400-milestone, and she achieved it in impressive fashion, with the Scots (7-6, 5-4 NCAC) scoring their most points against Wittenberg (5-9, 3-6 NCAC) since a meeting in 2009.

Wittenberg scored the game's initial goal around the 11-minute mark, but Wooster knotted the score at one apiece just moments later when Leah Prescott scored on a right-to-left cross from Kayla O'Connor, and then a little over a minute before the end of the half, Kayla O'Connor redirected a pass from her sister Kerry O'Connor that gave the Scots a 2-1 lead at the break.

The Tigers were aggressive to open the second half, taking 10 shots in the first seven minutes, but goalkeeper Meredith Farley and the Scots' defense fended off the attack, and then Wooster's offense turned the tables.

Kayla O'Connor scored her second goal of the game on a feed from Taylor Thorp at 45:09 that pushed the lead to 3-1, and 1:11 later, Anjela Galimberti rifled a deep shot from just inside the striking circle that rattled the cage and made it a three-goal game (4-1).

Wittenberg did score two more goals late in the second half, but sandwiched in between was another Wooster score, as Nikki Sever pushed the ball towards the far right side of the goal, where Kerry O'Connor was waiting to tap it past the 'keeper. It marked Sever's 37th career assist, moving her into second-place all-time in program history.

Farley made all eight of her saves in the second half, including five during the Tigers' surge coming out of the halftime break.

The Scots are in fourth-place in the conference standings, and will look to improve on their position when they visit Earlham College (2-10, 0-8 NCAC) on Friday at 5 p.m.

The 2013 Wooster field hockey team celebrates head coach Brenda Meese's 400th career win following Saturday's 5-3 victory over rival Wittenberg. (photo courtesy of Keith Beckett)