Scots Trounce Albion 14-1 in Season Opener

WOOSTER, Ohio – Behind senior defender Nick Spittle, and a slew of freshman goal-scorers, The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team got its 2012 season started with a dominant 14-1 victory over Albion College Saturday at a cold and snowy John P. Papp Stadium.

The Scots (1-0) set the tone right away thanks in large part to freshman Max Rubin, who went 5-for-5 on face-offs in the first period to help Wooster continuously gain possession and apply offensive pressure.

Wooster built a 4-0 cushion just over four minutes into the action, as freshman Pat Henderson scored a pair of goals, and fellow first-year players Mike Perrino and PJ Dallman added one each. Albion (2-1) got on the scoreboard next, when Tim Urso found the back of the net to pull the Britons within 4-1, but that was the last time the Scots' defense allowed a goal on the afternoon.

Offensively, Wooster steadily pulled away, as senior Eric Johnson scored twice to end the first period, and freshman Tom Herold chipped in two more in the second, giving the Scots an 8-1 halftime advantage.

In the third period, Wooster pushed its lead to 13-1, which included two impressive scoring plays. One was when Dallman rolled the crease and dished a pass to Henderson who shot the ball over the goalkeeper's head. The other was an unassisted goal by sophomore Jake Bernard, where he faked a pass, spun around his defender, and rifled a shot past the goalkeeper.

After recording double-digit shot attempts in each of the first three periods, Wooster took its foot off the gas in the fourth period and attempted just five shots.

On the stat sheet, Spittle had an impressive game with six ground balls and five caused turnovers. Overall, the Scots caused 11 turnovers and led Albion 45-20 in ground balls.

Both Henderson and Herold got their collegiate careers started with a bang, as Henderson totaled a team-high three goals and two assists, while Herold also registered a hat trick and added one helper. Of Wooster's 14 goals, 10 came via freshman.

Matt Magoon spent the majority of the game in goal and made four saves in the victory.

Next, Wooster will host Bethany College Wednesday at 5 p.m.