Lucky No. 7: Scots Achieve Best Start to Season in Program History

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team moved into uncharted territory Saturday, as it edged out Albion College 7-6 to earn its seventh straight victory to begin the 2014 season, marking the best start to a campaign in the program's 47-year history.

This one didn't come as easy as the last couple, as the Fighting Scots (7-0) needed a fourth-quarter rally against the Britons (5-3) to notch their milestone win.

Wooster was ahead 4-2 early in the third quarter, but the Britons scored three in a row, with their last coming with 3:12 to go in the period to give them their first lead of the afternoon at 5-4.

Albion's advantage didn't hold long, though, as Nate Weltman pumped in his second goal of the game just 1:32 later to knot the score at 5-5 entering into the final stanza.

The Scots kept it rolling in the fourth, as Tom Herold delivered an unassisted tally to make it 6-5, and then with 6:26 remaining in regulation, Josh Herold scored an insurance goal on an assist from Matt Parmelee to regain Wooster's earlier two-goal lead, this time at 7-5.

With just over a minute left to play, Albion made things interesting by pulling within one, 7-6, but the Scots were able to maintain possession down the stretch, as Mike Kahl won a critical face-off and Parmelee used his speed to play keep away, extending Wooster's win streak to seven.

On the stat sheet, Weltman and Herold each scored twice, while Evan Albertson and Jake Bernard both recorded a goal and an assist, but it was the defense that may have made the biggest plays for the Scots. Goalkeeper Matt Magoon totaled six saves, with three in the pivotal fourth quarter, while Sean Hohan and Dean Marchitelli had matching lines with four groundballs and four caused turnovers.

Also noteworthy, newcomer Kahl went 6-of-8 on face-offs despite entering the game with just six prior face-off attempts.

The Scots aren't the only ones in the North Coast Athletic Conference sitting at 7-0, as eighth-ranked Denison University is also 7-0 and will be making a visit to John P. Papp Stadium this Wednesday night. The battle of unbeatens will begin at 7 p.m.