Clare Nelson-Johnson

The College of Wooster and Kenyon College played an evenly-matched first half, but a stingy Ladies' defense allowed just five shot attempts after the halftime break, which propelled them to a 14-8 victory over the Fighting Scots on Saturday afternoon in a North Coast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse match-up at Gambier, Ohio.

The Scots (10-4, 3-3 NCAC) got a boost from Clare Nelson-Johnson in the early goings, as she scored a pair of goals just 15 seconds apart to put them ahead 2-1 about eight minutes into the action.

Kenyon (9-2, 5-1 NCAC) eventually took its own 4-2 lead, but Nelson-Johnson finished off a hat trick on a feed from Eliza Perry which pulled the Scots within one (4-3).

The teams traded some goals during the final moments before the break, with Molly Sennett and Ellie Hudson-Heck each scoring for the Scots to keep them in striking distance (7-5) at the game's midway point.

Wooster didn't have as much success offensively in the second half, though, as Kenyon's defense, which entered the game allowing a league-low 8.9 goals per game, held the Scots to just three goals on five shots during the stanza.

Cassie Greenbaum, Perry, and Hudson-Heck scored Wooster's three second-half goals, with Shelby Stone assisting on two of them.

Shawna Ferris, who returned recently from injury, made eight saves in goal, and Kari Martyniak was also key on the defensive side of the ball with three caused turnovers. 

Wooster will look to snap its mini-slump with a strong finish to the regular season, beginning with a home date with Ohio Wesleyan University (3-11, 2-4 NCAC) on Wednesday at 5 p.m.