Scots' Five-Game Win Streak Ends with Loss to Ninth-Ranked Denison

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team led ninth-ranked Denison University 4-3 with over 11 minutes remaining in the second period before trailing by three heading into the fourth period, but an eight-goal final stanza as part of a larger 10-0 run sealed the victory and a share of first-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings for the Big Red, as the Fighting Scots fell  by a final count of 17-6 on Wednesday night at John P. Papp Stadium.

Senior Josh Herold, the reigning NCAC Player-of-the-Week posted three points on the night – all coming on assists – to move into fifth-place all-time in the program's career points list with 182. Meanwhile, junior Alexander Bloom tallied a team-high two goals, while four others contributed a goal each.

Each squad exchanged man-up goals early on, as Denison (10-1, 5-0 NCAC) opened the scoring with a tally from Brooks Davy before Wooster's (9-6, 5-1 NCAC) Nathaniel Miller brought it level just over three minutes later.

With consecutive goals just over a minute apart from Spencer Butler, Denison took a 3-1 lead midway through the first period, but Wooster responded convincingly with three straight tallies of their own. Junior Sam Kuhn closed the opening stanza with his 26th goal of the season off the assist from senior Matt Parmelee, while junior Ian Brim and Parmelee each converted less than four minutes into the second period to give the Scots a 4-3 advantage.

The Big Red, which came in as the nation's third-highest scoring offense in the country, closed the half with two pairs of goals, bookending a tally from Bloom as Denison held on to a 7-5 lead at the break.

Bloom brought the Scots back within one (7-6) just over a minute into the second half off the helper from Herold, but Denison closed effectively after shutting out the Scots for the game's remainder while scoring 10 unanswered goals.

The Big Red won the faceoff advantage 17-7 and was a perfect 13-for-13 on clear attempts. Wooster goalkeeper Wesley Wagner finished with 10 saves as Denison outshot the Scots 44-31 on the day, including 16-1 in the fourth period.

Junior Erik Barroso led the squad with six groundballs while Wagner, junior Jack Gilio, and first-year Noah Plotkin each tallied a caused turnover.

Up next, the Scots host Wittenberg University (7-5, 4-2 NCAC) as part of "Senior Day" on Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m.