SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team dominated Wittenberg University from the start and ran away from a team it finished tied with for fourth-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference last year, 16-6 at Edwards-Maurer Field on Saturday afternoon.
Wooster's (8-3, 2-0 NCAC) win over Wittenberg (4-2, 0-2 NCAC) marked the program's first over the Tigers since 2019. Senior Vinny DiLeo, junior Will Fink, and junior Rory Zahren staked Wooster to a 3-0 lead and the Fighting Scots scored on their first two shot attempts. Senior Jimmy Fisher's ability to win faceoffs aided in a 2-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.
Senior Paul Chandler was impenetrable near the end of the first quarter. The senior goalkeeper stopped four Wittenberg shots in the final 6:45. Offensively, Zahren found senior Ben Byars to extend the lead to 4-1.
Wooster's lead was 8-3 at halftime, then the Scots blew away the Tigers in the third quarter, scoring seven unanswered goals to take command 15-3 lead. Sophomore Austin Jourde started the scoring frenzy, which saw Byars net two to lead the Scots. Other third-quarter Wooster scores were logged by first-year John Lloyd, junior Riley Schulze, senior Shane Epstein-Petrullo, and sophomore Lane Kellogg. Lloyd's goal marked the first of his collegiate career, while Kellogg's was his team-leading 32nd.
Wooster's 5-for-7 success rate on third-quarter faceoffs, 6-for-6 mark on clears, and just two turnovers helped hold Wittenberg to six possessions over the 15 minutes. The Tigers turned the ball over on four of them, with Zahren causing a turnover on the first.
Fink earned high honors in scoring with a four-goal afternoon. Byars followed with three scores. Sophomore Austin Jourde passed out two of Wooster's seven assists. Fisher was credited with a 15-of-20 afternoon in the faceoff department and led all players with 11 groundballs for his 13th career double-digit groundball game, three of which have come in a row.
Senior Henry McMahon followed Fisher with seven groundballs. Senior Casey Steffen led the defense with four caused turnovers, followed by junior Bill Holtzer's three. Chandler finished with six saves.
Justin Katona led Wittenberg with four groundballs and three caused turnovers. Nathan Brown had a four-point game on the strength of three assists. Chase Singleton stopped 12 Wooster shots.
Wooster outshot Wittenberg 49-29, which included a decisive 41-16 count through three quarters. Wooster more than doubled up Wittenberg on groundballs, 51-27, and was 23-of-25 on clears to a 17-of-25 mark for the Tigers. Wooster won 18 of the 25 faceoffs on the afternoon.
Next, Wooster plays at Hiram College (4-5, 0-2 NCAC) at noon on Saturday, April 6.