WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team matched its record for most wins in a season with Saturday night's 23-4 victory over Wabash College at Wooster High School.
Plenty of alumni were on hand to celebrate the milestone, as Wooster (12-1, 3-1 NCAC) matched the 1983 (12-4) and 1991 (12-4) teams for most victories.
Saturday's outcome was well in hand early, as Wooster's lead was 8-2 after a period of play, 14-2 at halftime, and 19-3 after three periods. Sixteen Scots contributed to the 23 goals, including junior Rowan Keesser and sophomore Anderson Macdonald, who scored their respective first collegiate goals. Keesser's came on an assist from junior Ben Byars in the third period, while Macdonald's also came in the third when he cleaned up an initial shot that was saved by Wabash's (7-5, 1-3 NCAC) Braeden Cooper.
The offense started early, with Wooster claiming a quick 2-0 lead just over 3:15 into the game. Sophomore Rory Zahren became the third Fighting Scot to hit 20 goals on the year, finishing an assist from junior Vinny DiLeo at the 11:44 mark, and first-year Lane Kellogg's 26th assist of the year came on sophomore Colton Beaudoin's 20th score of the year in the second period.
Wabash found no rhythm or consistency in transition, turning the ball over 40 times on the night and going just 7-of-34 on clear attempts. Junior Casey Steffen surpassed 60 caused turnovers and groundballs on the year with five of each in the game. The havoc was not limited to just Steffen, as Wooster caused 26 turnovers on the night, nearly 12 more than the team's per-game average coming into play, which ranked seventh nationally. Eight Wooster players had at least two caused turnovers in the win, with Beaudon's three ranking behind Steffen's for high honors.
Groundballs were another area of noteworthiness, with Wooster surpassing 60 for the second time this year. Twenty-six players scooped up at least one, with junior Jimmy Fisher's 10, Beaudoin's five, senior Mason Poisson's five, Steffen's five, junior Seth Owen's four, and Zahren's four comprising the Scots' top-five. Wooster's 64 were over 20 above the team's per-game average, which was the fifth-highest nationally entering play.
Elsewhere, DiLeo made quick work of the Little Giants with four assists and three goals, and he is now an assist shy of cracking the program's top-10 career leaderboard. Junior Paul Chandler denied Wabash six times in goal, while the Scots finished with nine saves overall.
Quinn Fitzgerald and Cooper were Wabash's bright spots. Fitzgerald scored three times, while Cooper made 16 saves.
Wooster's first chance at the outright record for most wins in program history comes Wednesday when the Scots visit Kenyon College (11-1, 4-1 NCAC) for a 5 p.m. contest.