ALBION, Michigan – Fourteen NCAA Div. III teams entered Wednesday with at least four wins and no losses this season, and The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team is still part of that group after bouncing Albion College from it with a 17-15 win at Alumni Field.
Wooster, now 5-0, handed Albion (4-1) its first regular-season loss since April 12, 2022, and it marked just the second loss by the Britons in their last 13 games. Wooster junior Vinny DiLeo, who took over the team lead with 14 goals on the year, possessed the hot stick down the stretch of Wednesday's win. The attacker scored three straight fourth-period goals and broke a 14-14 tie with 6:29 remaining. Wooster's first-years set up the Scot accustomed to being the assister, with helpers from Luke Budd and Lane Kellogg enabling DiLeo to extend the lead to 17-14 with 3:21 to go.
Faceoffs, where Wooster went 29-of-36 behind 16-of-20 and 13-of-16 efforts from sophomore Rory Zahren and junior Jimmy Fisher, respectively, aided the Scots tremendously. One of those 29 wins came after Albion pulled within 17-15 in the final three minutes and gave the Scots a crucial possession. Sophomore Anderson Macdonald caused and turnover and scooped up the game-clinching groundball in the final 20 seconds.
Wednesday's clash between unbeatens featured three lead changes and eight ties. The Scots took their first lead with 3:23 remaining in the first half on Kellogg's unassisted goal. The first-year scored again a minute later to give the Scots an 8-6 lead at halftime and cap a 4-1 stretch. Albion flipped the script with a 6-2 third period to tie the game at 12.
DiLeo's seven goals marked a career-high and are tied for the sixth-most in single-game program history. Of note, four of the 16 games where a Scot has scored at least seven times have come in the last three seasons and DiLeo's was the first since junior Charlie Ballou's seven-goal outburst against Hiram College last spring. Kellogg backed DiLeo up with three goals and three assists. Fueled by their faceoff dominance, Fisher and Zahren combined for 21 groundballs, with both hitting double figures. Junior Paul Chandler turned side 17 Albion shots, while DiLeo and Macdonald each caused three turnovers.
Sam Puzevic was Albion's offensive star with five goals and two assists. Jack Gogonis was the high Briton at four groundballs and his line was the opposite of Chandler's in goal with 17 goals allowed and 15 saves.
The teams combined for 105 shots, with Wooster dominating 64-41. Wooster had 49 groundballs to Albion's 25.
Next, Allegheny College (2-2) visits John P. Papp Stadium for a noon game on Saturday, March 11.
photo by Anna Russell '23