WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster came out of halftime with a four-goal run over just 6:55 to take a 9-6 lead and made a couple of late defensive stops, which were the two key stretches of Saturday's 10-9 win over North Coast Athletic Conference rival DenisonDenison University at Carl Dale Memorial Field.
Trailing 6-5 at the half, Wooster (4-2, 2-0 NCAC) scored 85 seconds into the second when Thursday's star, Becca Worthington, converted a free-position attempt. That ended up as her only shot of the afternoon, following a career-high seven-goal performance at Allegheny College.
Less than a minute later, Jess Cleveland gave the Fighting Scots their first lead of the day (7-6) with an unassisted tally, and 28 seconds after that, Amy Denny netted a goal, assisted by Cleveland. The scoring spree continued about four minutes later when Emily Meyer connected on one.
Both defenses settled in for quite some time before Clare Nelson-Johnson found the back of the net on a free position, giving Wooster a four-goal cushion (10-6) right around the midway point of the half.
Denison (4-3, 0-1 NCAC) then made a run, coming up with three unanswered goals, as it pulled within one at the 4:09 mark. The Big Red won the ensuing draw control and eventually sent a shot on goal, but Shawna Ferris was there for a big save with a little over three minutes remaining.
The Scots attempted to run out the clock, but turned it over with 1:06 left. Denison's last chance was denied by standout defender Britta Harman, who knocked down a pass on the right wing, picked up the ensuing groundball, and Wooster kept it away from the Big Red the rest of the way.
The first half featured ties of 1-1, 3-3, and 5-5 before Denison took a slight lead into the break.
Both teams showed great balance, as 16 different players scored goals. The Scots had three with two apiece in Cleveland, Denny, and Nelson-Johnson. Cleveland also tallied an assist for a game-high three points.
Defensively for Wooster, Ferris made 11 saves and Harman recorded five caused turnovers and five groundballs.
The Scots continue NCAC action on Wednesday when they host Ohio WesleyanOhio Wesleyan University (5-3, 0-2 NCAC) at 4:30 p.m.