Scots Welcome Whittier for Home Opener Sunday

After starting the season with five road games, The College of Wooster men’s lacrosse team will make its 2007 debut at John P. Papp Stadium this Sunday, April 1. Coming to Wooster is Whittier College (4-5), a squad from southern California, which is making a two-game swing in the state of Ohio. This marks the third year in a row Whittier has visited the Fighting Scots, and they split the first two, with Wooster easily triumphing last spring by a count of 17-6 to avenge a 9-8 Poets win in 2005 when they scored three goals during the final minute. Opening face-off is at 1 p.m.

    Spring Break Recap: The Scots won two of three games over spring break while two others were cancelled due to the weather, bringing their overall record to 4-1 (.800) on the season.
    On March 10, Wooster used a 4-1 fourth quarter to get past host Swarthmore College 9-6 during non-conference action in the Philadelphia area. Sophomore midfielder Tim Lee (Orion, Mich. / Detroit Jesuit) broke the 5-5 tie with back-to-back unassisted goals to start the fourth, and less than a minute after Lee’s second score, senior attacker Hisham Hassan (Winchester, Mass. / Winchester) gave the Scots a three-goal cushion, converting a feed from sophomore midfielder Chris Gatsch (Princeton, N.J. / Blair Academy) with 8:52 remaining. Later, sophomore attacker Mark Weschler (Silver Spring, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel) sealed the victory with his second goal. Hassan, Lee, and Weschler each ended up with two goals on the afternoon, while Hassan added two assists to lead all scorers with four points. Wooster was outshot 38-21, but junior goalie Matt Biester (Wallingford, Pa. / Strath Haven) produced 19 saves to help turn away the Garnet.
    On March 14, the Scots dropped their first game of the season, falling to then-No. 6 ranked Lynchburg College 13-4 in central Virginia. Wooster stayed close with the Hornets through the first quarter, trailing just 2-1, however, Lynchburg then took control with six unanswered goals, including five in the second quarter. Accounting for the Scots’ scores were Gatsch, Hassan, senior attacker Chris Vaccaro (Plano, Texas / Plano Texas), and Weschler. Weschler also tallied one of Wooster’s three assits in the contest. In goal, Biester made 11 saves through three quarters and freshman Calvin Todd (Deerfield, N.H. / Concord) saw his first career action in the fourth, recording four stops without allowing a goal.
    On March 21, the Scots outscored Oberlin College 6-1 each of the first two quarters and coasted to an 18-5 triumph during North Coast Athletic Conference action at Oberlin, Ohio. Weschler accounted for two goals and two assists during the opening period alone and ended up with a game-high six points (3 goals, 3 assists). Hassan scored a hat trick as well, in addition to two assists for a five-point game and seven groundballs, while freshman attacker Dan MacVarish (Hingham, Mass. / Thayer Academy) sparked Wooster off the bench with four goals on four shots. Other Scots posting double-digit scoring days were senior midfielder Ben Abbott (Yarmouth, Maine / Canterbury School – Conn.) with one goal and one assist, freshman midfielder Pat Coyne (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham) with two goals, and Vaccaro with two goals.

    NCAC Player of the Week: For his efforts, sophomore Mark Weschler (Silver Spring, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel) was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Weschler totaled six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in the Oberlin game, and now leads the squad in scoring with 11 goals and five assits for 16 points through four games played.