DELAWARE, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's lacrosse team rallied back to tie Wednesday's key North Coast Athletic Conference contest against Ohio Wesleyan University at 12 before falling 14-12 at Selby Stadium.
Wooster (10-4, 2-3 NCAC) started its comeback bid a Fighting Scot down early in the fourth quarter due to a card. Senior Kenzie Smith's score at 11:55 had Wooster within 11-9, and sophomore Bella Woodbury found classmate Lizzie Hardy for a score to pull the Scots within one just over two minutes later.
Wooster again was within one when sophomore Brynne Snaguski scored for the second time of the night at the 7:16 mark. Wooster went up a player on an Ohio Wesleyan (13-2, 5-0 NCAC) yellow card midway through the fourth quarter and junior Kaitlyn McBride cashed in on the Scot up opportunity, tying the game at 12 with 5:44 remaining.
Free-position goals by Tiffany Trinh and Sophia DelGallo with 4:22 and 3:04 left, respectively, went in the books as the go-ahead score and an insurance goal.
A scoring-dominated first quarter saw the teams combine for 10 goals. First-year Audrey Richardson stopped five Ohio Wesleyan shots in the stanza as part of a 10-save performance. That helped Wooster stay within 6-4 at the end of the period.
Wooster tied the game at six on a Woodbury-to-Snaguski score with 11:46 left before halftime, and the game was retied at seven when McBride found the back of the net with 9:18 on the clock. Junior Kenzie Morris' entry into the program's all-time top-10 for goals made it 8-7 in favor of Wooster with 7:42 showing on the first-half clock. Morris' goal marked number 145 for the junior.
Bella McCloskey put forth a strong defensive effort in what marked the junior's first career start. McCloskey led all players on both sides with six groundballs and tied for the game-high at three caused turnovers. Smith's three goals led the Scots and pulled the senior 10 shy of hitting the 100-goal mark over a career. Woodbury's three assists led the Scots as did sophomore Sidney O'Rourke's eight draw controls.
Sophia Delgallo netted five goals on 11 shots. Abbie Grogan was the key midfielder, thanks to eight draw controls, five groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Abby Markowitz totaled six saves.
Ohio Wesleyan attempted 35 shots to Wooster's 29 and had a 17-13 edge in draw controls and a 32-27 lead in groundballs.
Next, Wooster hosts Oberlin College (5-11, 1-4 NCAC) at noon on Saturday, April 27. The team will celebrate its senior class with the senior recognition ceremony at 11 a.m.