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| Helena Enders |
This Week's Outlook: The third-seeded College of Wooster women's lacrosse team returns to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the 12th time in the last 13 years for a semifinal round matchup at second-seeded Oberlin College on Wednesday, May 2 at 6 p.m.
Media Coverage: Live stats and live video will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/oberlin/. Additionally, fans can follow the women's lacrosse team's Twitter handle @COWWLAX for periodic updates and @WoosterSports for post-game updates. Also, fans can visit the NCAC Championships Central homepage for additional information.
Ticket Information: Ticket prices are set by the conference office and are $7 for adults, and $3 for children 18-years-old and under. College of Wooster students are admitted free of charge but must present a student identification card. Additionally, NCAC guest passes and lifetime passes are valid for complimentary admission at the NCAC Tournament.
Wooster's NCAC Tournament History: The Fighting Scots have won the NCAC Championship six times in program history, including three under the helm of 13-year head coach Elizabeth Ford, who enters Wednesday's game with a career record of 143-65-1 (.684) and a 9-8 mark in conference tournament play. Under Ford, Wooster is 6-4 in conference semifinals and 4-2 as the No. 3 seed, having made the conference finals three times and twice winning the championship. As a program, Wednesday's game marks Wooster's 24th appearance and just the fifth game against the Yeowomen, with each team holding two wins.
A Look-Back at this Year's Regular-Season Meeting: Statistically, Wooster held its own against the Yeomen in a 19-7 setback at Oberlin, Ohio on April 7. The Scots were 14-for-17 on clear attempts and totaled 13 draw controls, one short of Oberlin, while totaling 12 groundballs and eight caused turnovers. The Yeowomen's 27-18 shot advantage was influential, but their 6-for-8 mark on free-position shot attempts proved crucial compared to Wooster's 2-for-7 outing. Five different Scots got on the board while junior Megan Myers (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley) came away with a team-high four groundballs.
Healy's Career Year: Junior Megan Healy (Ottawa Hills, Ohio/Ottawa Hills), a first-team all-conference selection and second-team all-region honoree last year, has continued to impact in nearly every phase of the game for the Scots in 2018. The junior defender, who boasts top-40 NCAA Div. III rankings in groundballs (17th), draw controls (39th), and caused turnovers (27th), leads the league with 41 caused turnovers and 67 groundballs while boasting 91 draw controls, another top-five mark in the league. In fact, Healy's groundball and draw control totals mark single-season program records while her 41 caused turnovers remain six shy of Krista Klocke's record-setting 47 set back in 2002. Career-wise, Healy already ranks in the top-five in two of the three categories with 152 draw controls (5th) and 101 caused turnovers (t-4th).
First-Year Production: No first-year has led Wooster in goals since Ellie Hudson-Heck ('16) in 2013. Currently, first-year Alexa Mellis (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) holds a team-high 32 goals on 53 shots and ranks third on the team in points (38), and could become the first Scot newcomer to lead the team in both goals and points since Kate Messer ('99) did so in 1996. As a class, Wooster's first-years have accounted for 39 percent of the Scots' scoring production this year, followed by Katie Harvey's (Ellicott City, Md./St. Timothy's School) 18 goals and Ashley Boersma's (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) 10.
Ender's 100th Goal: Senior Helena Enders (Lake Oswego, Ore./St. Mary's Academy) capped her John P. Papp regular-season playing experience by becoming the 23rd player in program history to reach 100 career goals during Wooster's key 19-14 win over Allegheny. The Pacific Northwest native enters Wednesday's game tied with junior Emma Lawrence (Wilbraham, Mass./Williston-Northhampton) for the team-lead in points at 43, while leading the squad with 15 assists.
Efficient Play: This season, Wooster has scored 220 goals on 414 total shots for an overall scoring percentage of 53.1 percent, over four percentage points higher than the next-closest NCAC team. On the other end, the Scots' 270 turnovers are the lowest total in the league by over 40. Additionally, Wooster's goals-against average of 10.36 ranks third-lowest conference-wide as first-year goalkeeper Katie Shideler (Gibsonia, Pa./North Allegheny) maintains the third-lowest goals-against total in the league with 112 allowed.