Stage Set for Big Year in Men’s Lacrosse

New concepts and fresh culture instilled within The College of Wooster men's lacrosse program immediately resulted in one of the top seasons in program history. Fresh off setting the program record for victories, finishing as a team national statistics champion, and with an array of honors all the way up to All-America status, this year's team is hungry for even more success.

"Last year was really all about learning for us," shared second-year head coach Eric Seideman. "Now it is about taking things to that next level. We've focused much more extensively on fundamentals and mastering skills that will get us to that next level. Our players look back at the improvement they made last year and are motivated to have an even bigger improvement this year."

Wooster's uptick in success is centered around winning the passion battles in the areas of riding, clearing, faceoffs, groundballs, limiting turnovers, and causing turnovers are among the key focuses of the coaching staff. Excelling in many of these make-or-break areas transformed the program, with the Scots having a seven-win improvement from 2022, leading the country – all NCAA divisions – with a 62.7 opponent clearing percentage, and ranking within the top-three nationally in groundballs per game (45) and caused turnovers per game (14.88) a year ago.

"We could be much better in some of these areas this year with a big improvement on our back end," stated Seideman. "Our more experienced play in the offensive midfield with them fully understanding their part of the ride makes us more dangerous."

Senior Casey Steffen broke the NCAA Div. III record for caused turnovers per game at 5.06, and the crazy thing, per Seideman, is he "didn't even really figure out our ride until about spring break." That resulted in Steffen averaging more caused turnovers per game in conference play – when the overall quality of competition was better – than during the non-conference portion of the season.

"Casey has an unbelievable lacrosse mind," summed up Seideman, when highlighting the player who more than doubled the program's single-season caused turnover record last year. "He is a student of the game and knows what to do in all situations. Casey always had it in him to be an impactful takeaway guy. He is playing with a confidence level he didn't have previously."

Junior Bill Holtzer, who "brings a lot of the same energy, takeaway skills, and ball handling that Casey does, along with a shot clocked over 100 miles per hour," per Seideman, gives Wooster a formidable one-two punch. Seniors Oliver Snow and Seth Owens "bring a big, physical presence to the defense," according to Seideman.

Sutton Ursillo slides into the starting long-stick midfielder role, and Seideman is confident the sophomore will "do really well off the ground with picking up groundballs and pushing in transition." That should provide a strong compliment to the defensive midfield, which Seideman feels is the deepest area of the team.

"We have a deep core of defensive midfielders who impose their will on the opposing offensive middies," shared Seideman. "We are very excited to have junior Aidan Hyatt back from knee surgery. He was our top guy last year."

Senior Henry McMahon, a four-year contributor, is described by the staff as a "dynamic threat in transition." Senior Rowan Keesser and sophomore Cooper Nichols provide strong on-ball play and "have a great knack for double teaming and causing turnovers," per Seideman. Junior Cam Culton is back from injury and has "upped his game a lot."

Senior Mitch Shelman, junior Silas Richard, and sophomore Rye Kral round out the returning field players on the defensive end.

Senior Paul Chandler is one of the top goalkeepers in the region and is just shy of becoming the ninth player in program history with 400 career saves. Junior Jason Astle and sophomore Théo Weidinger added depth behind Chandler.

"Paul's positioning and patience in the cage is what makes him truly special," shared Seideman. "Paul never has to move too far to save the ball and makes difficult saves look effortless because of the ways he positions himself."        

Wooster returns its top 10 leading scorers from last year, giving it the luxury to trot out a lot of depth and different skillsets. Seideman sees at least six attackers and 10 offensive midfielders as part of the regular rotation, resulting great balance in terms of playmaking, dodging, shooting, and passing. With the teamwork continuously improving, Seideman feels Wooster will "be able to leverage our depth more."

Senior Vinny DiLeo is the catalyst of the offense, ranking within the program's top eight in career points (169) and assists (81). Sophomore Lane Kellogg was just returning to full strength as a first-year due to a high school injury, and put up 65 points, the most in program history for a first-year.

"Vinny has a decent chance to break the career points record this year," said Seideman, when highlighting the program's biggest offensive contributors. "Lane is much sharper this year and is playing with so much more confidence."

Elsewhere, junior Colton Beaudoin (34 points in 2023), senior Ben Byars (67 career points), and senior Charlie Ballou (57 career points) split time on attack last year and are described by the staff as "steady contributors who can score." Seniors Ben Huntington and Pat Hrabak add depth to the attacking core.

A good amount of Wooster's offense is generated by the midfield, where rising juniors Will Fink and Rory Zahren lead the way. Fink has "really elevated his game this year," according to the staff, while Wooster's depth at faceoff gives the program the good fortune of being able to expand Zahren's role. Zahren capitalized on the opportunity by ranking fourth on the team with 23 goals while also winning nearly 60 percent of faceoff chances.

"Will has been one of our better guys the last two years, while Rory is a pretty unique multi-talented threat who emerged last year," said Seideman. "Some of our sophomores like Austin Jourde, Luke Budd, and Rowan Piani have really improved over the past year and look to be in a more starring role this year. Senior Shane Epstein-Petrullo is looking like much more of a scoring threat this year as well."

Juniors JoJo Jordan, Riley Schulze, and Renick Wiltshire, and sophomore Logan Hyatt are all guys who have improved and are "looking to crack into the lineup in a bigger way than in the past," per Seideman. Seniors Jimmy Paranzino and Sam Cook, juniors Grant Rivera, Aidan Sheil, and Jackson Young, and sophomores Luke Peter and Owen Bosland round out the returnees in the midfield looking to earn a bigger role this season.

Two players – senior Jimmy Fisher and Zahren – who are able to win faceoffs at such a high rate makes the team that much more dangerous. Last year, Wooster was able to establish a successful rotation that by game's end often wore down the opposition's primary faceoff taker. Both Fisher and Zahren are within the top-three all-time in career faceoff winning percentage, and both have won at least 58 percent of lifetime collegiate faceoffs. Junior Cody Mox and Bosland add depth to the position.

Wooster's team is rounded out by first-years Mo Bajinka, Pierce Baker, John Allen Ginder, Sam Green, Baird Hruska, Patrick Kane, Evan Laudenslager, and John Lloyd.

"Our first-year group is very tight," shared Seideman. "They have worked hard this year and really bought into team culture. Several of them will make an impact this year, which is not easy given we have a very upperclass-heavy team and return most of our starters."

Wooster's season starts with a 6 p.m. home game against Otterbein University on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Conference play starts Saturday, March 23 when DePauw University visits for a 3 p.m. contest.

"We've improved our schedule from last year, adding NCAA Tournament qualifiers John Carroll University and Cabrini University," wrapped up Seideman. "We are excited about the challenges ahead and it seems like a good schedule to test us early."