WOOSTER, Ohio - A five-goal flurry during a 5:42 stretch over
the final minutes of the first half and opening moments of the
second stanza, which included two goals and two assists from senior
Carly
Carey, paved the way for The College of Wooster women's
lacrosse team's fifth North Coast Athletic Conference tournament
championship overall. Fueled by the run, the Scots downed Kenyon
College 11-6 Sunday in the finals of the NCAC Tournament hosted by
Wooster at Carl Dale Memorial Field.
With the win, the Scots receive the league's automatic bid to the
NCAA Division III Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on
Wednesday, May 6.
The top-seeded Scots found themselves tied 2-2 with Kenyon, the
No. 2 seed, at the 14:15 mark of the first half. Then, Carey
converted a free position attempt with 4:13 left, and just over two
minutes later, she assisted on a nifty goal to her younger sister
Madison
Carey, kick-starting the title-clinching run.
Carly Carey tacked on her third goal of the game :14 later,
lifting Wooster to a 5-2 halftime advantage. Out of the break, Hillary
Darragh received a pretty pass from Carly Carey at the 28:48
mark, and just 17 seconds later, classmate Taryn
Higgins became a part of the scoring run with an unassisted
tally.
The Ladies (12-5) weren't done yet, scoring the next three goals
of the game to come within two at 7-5, and eventually again at 8-6,
but Wooster tacked on three goals over the final 6:36 of play, and
pulled away for the victory.
Carly Carey finished with a Wooster-high six points on four goals
and two assists, and was selected to the all-tournament team along
with Darragh, who chipped in with three goals and two helpers,
defender Britta
Harman, and goalie Jamie
Dannenberg, who recorded 16 saves in the championship game.
The Ladies were led by three players who recorded two tallies on
offense including Liz Hancock, landing her a spot on the
all-tournament team. Between the pipes for Kenyon, Chase Krueter
finished with 22 saves. They were joined on the all-tourney squad
by teammates Meghan Henshall and Brigid Donahue.
Rounding out the all-tournament selections were Cassedy O'Neill
and Amanda Wilson from Denison University, and representing
Wittenberg University were Hannah Fox and Megan Meige.
The NCAA will announce the pairings of its Div. III Women's
Lacrosse Tournament on Sunday night. The last visit the Scots made
to the national tournament was back in 2007, when they traveled to
Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., for an
opening-round game, falling to the Generals by a 14-4 count.