Meg Wood had a nose for the goal like none other in College of
Wooster lacrosse history, as 12 years after graduating she still
holds the top-three single-season goal totals.
“She was a quality shooter, a quality finisher,”
commented her former head coach Brenda Meese recently. “From
the time she came in, she was a significant scorer.”
Wood came to the Lady Scots from a hot bed for lacrosse (Alpine,
N.J.), according to Meese, and that background helped her flourish
right away. As a freshman, she scored a team-high 43 goals en route
to first-team all-region and all-conference honors, but she was
just scratching the surface of her abilities.
The next season, she averaged four-plus goals a game, finding the
back of the net 53 times total while garnering the same postseason
accolades. Most impressive, though, was Wood’s personal drive
and leadership in bringing Wooster to a six-win improvement from
2-12 to 8-4, which also marked its first winning season in six
years.
“She, along with Tamra Barnes, helped move this program into
winning territory,” Meese concurred.
Despite the graduation of Barnes and a position change from attack
wing to center, Wood continued to pile up the numbers and led the
Lady Scots to another winning record (10-8) as a junior. That year,
she upped her goal total to 57, all while spending more time on the
defensive end, and she began to be recognized nationally for her
efforts. In addition to first-team all-region and all-league
awards, she was selected an All-American by both the IWLCA
(third-team) and the USWLA (honorable mention).
Wood closed her career with her best season yet, scoring a
school-record 59 goals and passing out a personal-best 12 assists
for 71 points. Wooster posted a 9-6 record and third-straight
top-three finish in the league standings. Individually, she was the
North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and
took a spot on the 1995 USWLA All-America Team (third-team).
The two-time All-American and member of the NCAC All-Decade
Team (1993-03) finished as not only Wooster’s, but the
conference’s, all-time leading scorer with 241 points. Those
records have been since surpassed, however, Wood’s 212 career
goals is still a Scot best, and it doesn’t look like that
will be broken any time soon as the next closest on that list is 40
goals behind.
While Wood’s most renowned for her exploits on the lacrosse
field, it wasn’t her only sport at Wooster. She also played
three seasons of field hockey, earning three mentions on the
All-NCAC Team, including second-team in 1992 and 1993, as well as a
pair of all-region honors. As a forward, she totaled 32 career
points (12 goals, 8 assists).
Wood, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the
College, credits a lot of her lacrosse success to being well
rounded.
“I have always loved playing sports and being active,”
Wood explained. “Overall, I feel that playing lacrosse and
field hockey enhanced my experience at Wooster, and made me a
better person.”
Today, Wood, married to Christian Berling, is currently a
stay-at-home mom with their infant daughter, Sophia, in Portsmouth,
N.H. Prior to giving birth, she was a reading specialist/reading
recovery teacher after earning a postgraduate degree from Bank
Street College of Education in New York City.
