This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team is making its first North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament appearance since 2019 this week. Wooster (11-6, 5-3 NCAC) is off to top-seeded Denison University (12-5, 8-0 NCAC) for a 7:30 p.m. semifinal contest on Thursday, May 2. The winner of Thursday's game advances to play the winner of the other semifinal contest between second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University (11-4, 7-1 NCAC) and third-seeded Kenyon College (12-5, 6-2 NCAC) on Sunday at the site of the highest remaining seed at a time to be announced.
Media Coverage: Fans can watch Thursday's semifinal game at https://northcoastnetwork.com/denison/. Live statistics of Thursday's semifinal game can be found at https://denisonbigred.com/sidearmstats/mlax/media.
Ticket Information: The NCAC charges admission for the men's lacrosse tournament. For the semifinals, adults are $7.00. Children 18-and-under and students without a student identification card are $3.00. Students who attend a NCAC institution are free with their student ID card.
Wooster NCAC Tournament History: The NCAC Tournament for men's lacrosse started in 2013 and this is Wooster's fifth time appearing in the four-team tournament. Wooster is still looking for its first NCAC Tournament win. Wooster first appeared in the NCAC Tournament in 2013 and made subsequent appearances in 2016, 2017, and 2019. This is Wooster's fourth time playing Denison in the NCAC Tournament.
Establishing Consistency: Wooster's 11 wins entering the NCAC Tournament are tied for the fourth-most in program history and are two shy of the program record set last year. Wooster's 24 wins are the most in program history over a two-year stretch and it is just the second time the Scots have hit a double-digit win total in back-to-back seasons. Wooster first won 10 or more games in consecutive years in 1990 (10-6) and 1991 (12-4).
It's a Rough Ride for the Opposition: Wooster held its 2023 opponents to a 62.7 clearing percentage, which led all three NCAA divisions of men's lacrosse. Wooster is again leading the country this year, with the Scots' opposition's 66.4 percent success rate on clears edging out Endicott College's 66.5 percent for top billing. No NCAA Div. I or Div. II program is holding the opposition to below a 70 percent success rate on clears thus far in 2024.
Causing Havoc: Wooster has two individuals ranked within the top-100 nationally in caused turnovers per game in All-American Casey Steffen (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) and junior Bill Holtzer (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit). Steffen's 3.71 caused turnovers per game rank second nationally, while Holtzer checks in at 1.88 per contest, which is the 97th-highest per-game average in Div. III. As a team, Wooster's 13.65 caused turnovers per game are eighth. Steffen's 63 caused turnovers are the second-most in program history, trailing just the 86 he put up last year. Steffen is seven caused turnovers shy of becoming just the fourth player in Div. III history with at least 200 career caused turnovers.
500 Club: Senior Paul Chandler (Denver, Colo./Colorado Academy) surpassed 500 career saves this season. The three-year starter now has 540, which rates as the fifth-most in program history and the top total since alumnus Wesley Wagner tallied up 624 from 2017 until 2020. Chandler logged a season-high 17 saves the last time Wooster played Denison.
Fisher Piling Up the Records: Senior Jimmy Fisher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) has been piling up the records this spring. His record-setting season started by gaining top honors for career groundballs at the College, where his count is now at 410. Fisher shattered the single-season program record of 116 for his first-year with 139 groundballs this spring, and he is 45th nationally with just over eight groundballs per game. Fisher's 197 faceoff wins are the most in single-season history as are his 602 career wins.
The Scorer and The Distributor: Senior attacker Vinny DiLeo (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) is a dual-threat weapon on offense and presents a matchup challenge. DiLeo's 226 career points are made up of about 55 percent goals and 45 percent assists. He has scored on 61 percent of his point total from this season. DiLeo's 226 points are the third-most in program history. He is fifth all-time with 123 goals and has scored the most goals since Tom Bennett's school-record 162 from 1990-93. DiLeo is also third all-time in assists in program history.
Seeking 50: There have only been three 50-goal seasons in Wooster men's lacrosse history and sophomore Lane Kellogg (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) is challenging to have the fourth. Kellogg has 48 goals on the year and has logged six four-goal games on the year. Kellogg's already at 81 goals for his career.
100s: Junior Will Fink (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) scored his 100th career point in the regular season finale and will hit 40 goals on the year with his next score. The junior is having a career year, with the 39 goals ranking as almost double his next-highest total of 20 from 2023. Senior Ben Byars (Lexington, Ky./Bryan Station) hits point 100 with his next one. The senior's 29 goals are a career-high and he is just shy of 80 over the four years as a Scot.