Wagner Tallies Eight Saves in Closing Minutes as Scots Triumph 12-11 Over Capital

Hat-trick performances from junior Sam Kuhn and senior Matt Parmelee and a gritty final nine minutes from first-year goalkeeper Wesley Wagner propelled The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team to its first win of the 2017 campaign as the Fighting Scots topped Capital University 12-11 on Wednesday night at Bexley, Ohio.

 A solo effort from Kuhn at the 12:44 mark got Wooster (1-2) on the scoreboard early with a man-up tally from senior Josh Herold doubled the Scots' lead with 10:08 remaining in the first.

Capital's (2-2) Brennan O'Callaghan halved the deficit nearly two minutes later off the pass from Ryan Rampi, but the Scots responded with two more of their own, first off the stick of junior Alexander Bloom at the 7:08 mark before Kuhn tallied his second of the match just 57 seconds later to give Wooster a 4-1 advantage.

After an unassisted goal from Rampi, senior CJ Polak capped off the period with his third goal of the season to give the Scots a 5-2 leading heading into the second. Winning the faceoff battle proved critical for Wooster early on as the Scots won seven of eight in the opening quarter and outshot the Crusaders 15-5 in the frame.

Wooster led by as much as four goals on two separate occasions during the second quarter, as Parmelee netted two more in the second stanza to complete his hat-trick while Kuhn nailed his third as well. In addition, junior Ian Brim connected on his third goal of the season at the 10:35 mark. Both teams totaled four goals in the opening period as Wooster took a 9-6 leading heading into the break.

Capital struck first in the third as Carson Paul cut the lead to two (7-9) before two unassisted goals from Brim and Parmelee at the 8:52 and 5:50 marks, respectively, brought the Scots' lead back to four.

However, two goals from C.J. Hughes coming just 17 seconds apart ended the period on a strong note for the Crusaders, who went on to stretch that run to four with two unanswered goals at the start of the fourth to tie it at 11 with 12:09 left in the game.

Proving the difference in the game, scoring-wise, was a Polak-to-Herold connection at the 9:02 mark to give Wooster a 12-11 lead, an advantage which would stand the test of time – and shots – thanks to Wagner, who tallied eight saves – including three within a 24-second span – to close out the game and hand Wooster its first victory of the season in a game it never trailed in. In all, Wagner finished with 18 saves on 29 shots faced.

On the day, the Scots were a perfect 18-for-18 on clear attempts and outshot the Crusaders 44-36. Capital earned the edge at faceoffs won, 14-13, while Wooster picked up a game-best 31 groundballs. Wagner and junior Erik Barroso totaled a co-team-high five groundballs.

Up next, Wooster takes on Alfred University at Frederick, Md. for the Scots' first match of a three-game road trip.