Hannah Shaw works the ball upfield in transition against Transylvania in 2020. Photo by Matt Dilyard.

The College of Wooster's women's lacrosse team stepped onto the field for a competition for the first time since March 12, 2020 on Saturday afternoon, and the Fighting Scots fell 22-9 at 15th-ranked Denison University.

Denison's (2-0) Casey McTague had the Big Red off to a quick start with a goal just 35 ticks into the contest, and the Big Red quickly looked to contine its strong start. Seniors Lauryn Hill and Katie Shideler kept Denison at bay until the 26:16 mark when Lindsey Karsh cashed in on a free position try. Prior to that, Hill logged a caused turnover and Shideler tallied one of her career-high 18 saves.

Sophomore Hannah Shaw scored Wooster's (0-1) first goal of the season at the 20:17 mark, and Wooster was again within two with 16:15 remaining in the opening half, as senior Alexa Mellis netted her first goal of the season to make it a 4-2 tilt. Later, first-year Kenzie Smith etched her name in the scoring column for the first time, and that goal pulled Wooster within 5-3 with 13:53 before halftime. Denison responded with a 6-0 run to take an 11-3 advantage into halftime.

Wooster had a pair of back-to-back goals in the second half. First, senior Ashley Boersma netted her first goal of the season with 18:25 remaining, and less than two minutes later, Mellis scored her second goal of the contest. Later, seniors Miura Wiley and Katie Harvey found the back of the net, and that pulled the Scots within 16-8.

Mellis finished with a team-high three goals, while junior Tabitha Skornik-Hayes was tops in the groundball column with three. Harvey, Shaw, and Wiley finished with four draw controls apiece.

McTague's five goals led all players, while Charlotte Godfrey took charge in the midfield and defensively with 10 draw controls, seven groundballs, and five caused turnovers.

Denison outshot Wooster 50-23, had a 21-12 edge in draw controls, had 15 more groundballs, and only had 10 turnovers.

Next, Wooster's at Kenyon College (0-0) for a noon contest on Saturday, March 27.