Scots’ Comeback Comes Up Short Against Colorado College

Andy Boylan

Under the lights of Maurer Field in Wooster, Ohio, The College of Wooster men's lacrosse team rallied several times in the second half, but it wasn't enough as the Fighting Scots fell to Colorado College 12-9 in non-conference action Friday night.The Scots fall to 5-6 on the year, while the Tigers move to 6-4 overall.

The visitors knifed through the Scot defense at the game's outset, scoring two quick goals to start the game. Andy Boylan put Wooster on the board with a score at 10:05, cutting the lead to 2-1, but the Tigers scored twice more to push the advantage at three.

After Chris Vaccaro brought the Scots back within two (4-2) at the 3:36 mark, the Tigers' Robin Liston threw in his second goal of the day past Courter Shimeall to give Colorado a 5-2 advantage after one quarter of play.

Wooster's defense clamped down in the second period, holding the visitors to just four shots, but half of those found their way to the back of the net. Jud Brown pushed the lead to four by completing his own personal hat trick at 9:24, and then Matt Garrow capitalized on the man-up advantage to net the final score of the half with 40 seconds remaining.

The break rejuvenated the Scots who came out in the third quarter on fire, scoring on each of its first three opportunities. Sophomore Ben Abbott began the drive with an unassisted goal at 13:55, followed just 39 seconds later by Austin Taylor who found Vaccaro out in front of the net for another score. Boylan added his second score of the day at 12:16 off a feed from Shawn Handy, to pull Wooster within two (7-5).

Mike Sfirri ended the run with an unassisted goal at 8:32, but Vaccaro answered back a minute later with his third throw-in of the day to keep the advantage at two. But unfortunately for the Scots, Liston, Colorado's second-leading scorer on the season, went to work to close out the third quarter, taking feeds from Garrow and Sfirri to push the lead back up to four (10-6).

Handy put Wooster on the board first in the final frame, taking advantage of the defense being a man down to run out in front of the goal and throw in his first score of the game. Colorado answered back with a score by Garrow at 9:43 and added some insurance with a man-up goal by Brown at 3:02, to push the lead back to 12-7.

Feeling time running out, the Scots fired off about a half dozen shots at the goal, with two finding their mark, but the Tigers held on for the three-point win.

Handy and Vaccaro tied for the team lead in points, with the former netting two scores and passing out one assist, and the latter tallying three goals. Taylor and Abbott each contributed a goal and an assist, while Boylan added two goals. Shimeall played all 60 minutes in the net for Wooster, making six saves.

For the Tigers, Liston and Brown each scored four goals, with Liston also dishing out one assist. Garrow added two scores and an assist and Sfirri tallied four points on one goal and three assists. Harley Brakely accounted for Colorado's other score and Chris Shopneck made nine saves in the goal.

Wooster will look to rebound against its league rival Ohio Wesleyan University on Tuesday, April 26, at John P. Papp Stadium, as the Battling Bishops will be aiming to avenge a 7-5 loss last season to the Scots.