Scots Earn Split to Open 2005 Season

Eric McKinney scored the Scots' only goal against Geneseo, then added a goal and two assists in the win over Cazenovia.

After opening the 2005 men's lacrosse season with a 16-1 setback to 19th-ranked (USILA) Geneseo State University on Saturday (March 5), The College of Wooster bounced back on Sunday to take down Cazenovia College 22-8 in non-conference action from central New York. The Scots' overall record stands at 1-1 on the young season.

Wooster used a solid attack against Cazenovia as five Scots scored multiple goals, and a dozen reached the scoring column in all.

Sophomore Chris Vaccaro put Wooster on the board early in the first period with the first of his three goals on the day, via an assist by junior Shawn Handy. Freshman Conor Hannan picked up his first career assist on the Scot's next goal by Ben Abbott and then threw in his first career goal later in the period as Wooster raced out to a 4-0 lead.

After going up 5-1 at the end of the first period, the Scots outscored the Wildcats 17-7 over the next two periods, including four goals by sophomore Hisham Hassan and three by fellow sophomore Brendan Hayes, putting the game away.

Hassan and Hayes tied for the team lead with four goals, followed closely by Vaccaro who also tallied an assist for four points. Hannan tallied two scores and two assists, while Handy led Wooster with six points coming on two goals and a game-high four assists.

Alex Cost led Cazenovia with three goals, while Bill Rabuano tallied four points on one goal and three assists.

Wooster dominated offensively, outshooting Cazenovia 39-23 for the game, including 27-13 in the first two stanzas. In addition, the Scots won 24 of 30 face-offs, led by junior Peter Park who won 12-of-14.

In the season opener, Geneseo easily handled Wooster, using a 33-17 shooting advantage to cruise to a 16-1 victory. The Blue Knights jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the second half, until junior Eric McKinney cut the lead to four (5-1) with Wooster's first score about four minutes before the break.

Geneseo broke the game open with a 9-0 run as Chris Stock and Brian Orlowski combined for the first five scores and six overall in the third period.

The Blue Knights controlled the game defensively, scooping up 41 ground balls to Wooster's 24, while also winning 15-of-20 face-offs.

The Scots continue their non-conference schedule with a road trip to Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., this Sunday for a 1 p.m. game with the Quakers.