WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's lacrosse team blitzed Indiana Institute of Technology with a first-half-closing 10-0 run en route to Saturday afternoon's 18-7 victory over the Warriors at John P. Papp Stadium.
Wooster (3-0) and Indiana Tech (0-1) were deadlocked at three after Abby Barkdull scored with 5:03 to go in the opening period, and that is when things started clicking for Wooster. Junior Hannah Shaw converted a free-position shot for her first of three goals with 4:16 remaining. The Scots' draw control specialist found the back of the net again with 1:22 in the opening period, finishing a feed from sophomore Ciara O'Connor.
Wooster flat-out dominated Indiana Tech in the second period, outscoring the Warriors 8-0. The Scots' dominance was not just limited to the scoring column, with Wooster outshooting Indiana Tech 19-2 in the period, finishing with 9-5 groundball and 6-3 draw control advantages, and holding the Warriors to just one successful clear on four tries. Junior Clare Leithauser logged three of her game-high five groundballs and three of her four caused turnovers before halftime, and the Scots had just five turnovers in the opening 30 minutes of action. Offensively, junior Jill Murray and Shaw completed hattricks in the opening half, with Shaw's coming in a 9:34 span.
Two of Wooster's 13 first-half scores came directly off transitions. O'Connor caused a turnover deep in Indiana Tech's end with about 1:30 to go in the opening period, and less than 10 seconds later, the Scots' sophomore was passing out her assist. In the second stanza, Shaw won a draw with about 9:48 on the clock, and less than 10 seconds later, she tallied goal number seven for the year. Other key goals in the opening half included one from O'Connor that came with two seconds left on the shot clock.
Wooster's lead ballooned back to double digits on first-year Kenzie Morris' ninth goal of the year, and first-year Kaitlyn McBride netted her first collegiate goal in the fourth.
Wooster's balanced offense featured goals from nine Scots. Schuster and Shaw led the way with four points apiece. First-year Maeve Burke logged an impressive seven saves to just two goals against in 22:43 in goal.
Barkdull scored four of Indiana Tech's seven goals. Four Warriors had three groundballs each.
Wooster more than doubled up Indiana Tech 44-21 in shots and tripled the Warriors in draw controls, 22-7, thanks to Shaw's 15, a total that ranks third in Div. III this spring. Of note, Shaw's total is believed to be the single-game program record. It is the highest total for games where individual totals were tracked since draw controls became a NCAA-tracked statistic in 2000.
Wooster missed just one clear in 13 tries, while Indiana Tech struggled there, finishing 15-of-23.
Next, Wooster's three-game homestand wraps up when Saint Vincent College (1-0) visits John P. Papp Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, March 9.