Cole Bingham

The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team was unable to extend its undefeated run in North Coast Athletic Conference play, as the Fighting Scots were dealt a 19-9 defeat at the hands of host Ohio Wesleyan University on Friday evening at Selby Stadium in Delaware, Ohio.

While Ohio Wesleyan's (5-6, 2-0 NCAC) lightning quick 4-0 start that was part of a larger game-opening 6-0 run proved to be too tall a task to overcome, Wooster (3-8, 2-1 NCAC) did have some positives to take away from the game. Chief among those was the Scots' nine goals, which marked the top scoring haul against one of the premier programs in the NCAC since Wooster scored nine times in the semifinals of the 2013 NCAC Tournament.

A third of the Scots goals came within the first five minutes and change of the fourth period. Junior Cullen Kuhn pocketed his 19th goal of the season to spark Wooster's strongest stretch of the game. Next, the Scots maintained the ball after a Battling Bishop faceoff violation, and first-year Drake Nickolaison capped the possession with the score. Sophomore Shaun Peirce tallied his team-leading 25th goal of the season at the 9:57 mark to cap the 3-0 swing.

Wooster cashed in via transition opportunities several times after faceoff wins, with Peirce's second goal of the contest serving as the final time that trend leaned in the Scots' favor. That was also the case on Wooster's first goal of the game. First-year Cole Bingham scooped up a groundball on a faceoff inside of a minute in the first period, and sophomore Ted Wells tucked in the Scots' first goal of the game a short time later.

Kuhn and Wells backed Peirce up with two goals each, while senior Joe Altieri's active presence on the offensive end resulted in three assists and a goal.

First-year Joe Citera scooped up six of Wooster's 28 groundballs, while Bingham added four. Junior Wesley Wagner tallied up 12 saves in goal.

Ohio Wesleyan's Max Tennant, the NCAC's leading goal scorer, lived up to that billing with a game-high six goals to pair with four groundballs. Russell Perciballi turned in a big game as well with 17 faceoff wins and 11 groundballs.

Ohio Wesleyan finished with a 56-35 edge on shots and a 19-12 lead in faceoffs.

Next, Wooster takes on Whittier College (12-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 11.