Cassie Greenbaum

In its season debut, The College of Wooster women's lacrosse team broke open what had been a close game at Thiel College with a three-goal flurry over a 2:23 stretch to take an 11-7 lead and the Fighting Scots went on to a 14-9 victory Wednesday evening.

Upstart Thiel (0-4), a first-year varsity program, pulled within 8-7 with 12:10 remaining, but Wooster freshman Molly Sennett netted an unassisted tally 39 seconds later, followed by a Clare Nelson-Johnson goal 10 seconds after that, as the Scots took control.

A little more than two minutes later, Eliza Perry made it a four-goal margin and the Tomcats never got any closer than three the rest of the way.

The game had been tied 5-5 at halftime, but Wooster notched the first two scores of the second before pulling away late.

Nelson-Johnson began 2012 on a positive note with a five-goal, one-assist performance, while the squad's top returning scorer, Madison Carey, connected on two goals and assisted on two others. Perry and Jaqueline Wallat tallied two goals apiece, while Shelby Stone made a strong debut as the freshman was credited with a game-high three assists as well as a single goal.

Defensively, Cassie Greenbaum led the way with five groundballs and three caused turnovers and goalie Shawna Ferris made five saves in the win.

Next, the Scots head south for their spring break trip, starting with a match-up at Sewanee (3-1) on Monday night.