WOOSTER, Ohio – Amanda Artman and Brittany Montgomery made "Senior Day" a memorable one, as Artman became The College of Wooster's all-time leading scorer and Montgomery registered the first hat trick of her career as part of a seven-point day while leading the Fighting Scots past Kenyon College 5-1, which clinched a share of the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference championship.
Via 10-2 league records, Wooster is NCAC co-champions along with arch-rival Wittenberg University, also a winner on Saturday. The Scots do own the tiebreaker advantage, though, and will be the No. 1 seed and holder of home-field advantage for next week's NCAC Tournament.
Kenyon (8-12, 6-6 NCAC) controlled the action early Saturday, as Claire Chapman connected on a penalty corner, blasting the ball in from the left wing 7:14 into the contest.
It was all Wooster after that. Midway through the first half, Montgomery converted a pair of scoring chances just 3:07 apart. First, she knocked in a right-to-left cross from Kate Valora, and then Artman, positioned just outside the circle, sent one towards the cage that Montgomery deflected in for a 2-1 halftime lead.
Artman's record-breaking points came on one of the most impressive goals of her career. Artman gathered the ball just past midfield, weaved her way through three defenders and into the circle, where from the right side, she lifted the ball into the upper left corner of the cage. That upped Artman's career total to 185 points, breaking the long-standing school record held by Cindy Runnette (184 from 1979-82).
A little more than 10 minutes later, Montgomery completed her hat trick during a penalty corner attempt. Stephanie Standera drew the defense to the right side and slipped a pass to Montgomery, who tapped it in near the left post. Montgomery would go on to add an assist on an Eileen Barrer goal with 1:53 remaining.
Montgomery's big day vaulted her into the top-10 on the Scots' all-time scoring list, as she is now tied for eighth with 83 points (35 goals, 13 assists), while the team's other two seniors making their final regular season appearance at home were Kate Quinlivan and Katrina Wojciechowski, the latter of which tallied her seventh defensive save of the year.
The NCAC semifinals will be Wednesday, with Wooster hosting Denison University (11-7) at 2 p.m., at John P. Papp Stadium.