Scots Seeking Revenge at Denison, Then Hosting Rival Wittenberg

Briana Lynch

On a two-game winning streak, The College of Wooster field hockey team looks to continue to take strides up the North Coast Athletic Conference standings this week, as the sixth-place Fighting Scots have two league contests scheduled. On Wednesday, Sept. 26, revenge may be on Wooster’s mind when it travels to Denison University (3-5, 2-1 NCAC) for a 4:30 p.m. match-up. The squads played just two weeks ago, with the Big Red prevailing 2-1 in a stroke-off. This Saturday, Sept. 29, the Scots will host Wittenberg University (4-2, 1-1 NCAC) in the two rivals’ first meeting of this season. Over the previous seven years, either Wittenberg or Wooster has won or shared the NCAC championship every season, except for 2005. After posting 5-0 and 3-0 shutouts over the Tigers last fall, the Scots now lead the all-time series 33-22-4.

Last Week: Wooster won both games to improve to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the NCAC.

On Sept. 20, the Scots received a spark from their offense, scoring three goals, which was just enough to get by host Oberlin College 3-2. The match-up was scoreless until Wooster, which had only three goals total during its first five games, got on the board late in the opening half, sparking a three-goal outburst over a 3:44 time period. First, sophomore Brittany Montgomery (Glens Falls, N.Y. / Glens Falls) rattled the cage for the first time this season with an assist from freshman Nina Dine (Tuckahoe, N.Y. / E.C. Fieldston School). Oberlin answered just 2:03 later and it appeared that it would be 1-1 at halftime, however, Scot freshman Taylor Lamborn (Stevenson, Md. / McDonough School) broke through with just :04 left, tallying her first collegiate goal. Wooster increased that lead to 3-1 midway through the second half when another of the team’s 12 first-years, Eileen Barrer (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer), connected on her first collegiate score, and the Scots hung on. Wooster sophomore goalie Izzy Maffetone (Setauket, N.Y. / Ward Melville) collected four saves during the victory.

On Sept. 22, freshman Briana Lynch (North East, Md. / North East) exploded for a hat trick, leading the Scots past host Earlham College 4-2. The game appeared that it would be scoreless at halftime, however, Lynch connected on her first of the day with just :02 remaining, courtesy of an assist from Montgomery, to give Wooster a 1-0 lead. Both offenses picked up the pace during the second half, with Earlham first tying things up about eight minutes in. The key sequence came during the middle of the stanza when Wooster scored back-to-back goals just 1:27 apart. Barrer had an unassisted tally and then she helped out on Lynch’s second for a 3-1 lead. With less than six minutes to play, the Quakers made things interesting, pulling within one, but Lynch responded with a goal just 29 seconds after that one to put it away. Lynch was again assisted by Barrer.

NCAC Player of the Week: For her efforts (see above), Scot freshman forward Eileen Barrer (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer) was named North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week for field hockey. She’s the first Wooster student-athlete in any sport to garner the honor this year.