Scots Aim to Solidify NCAC First-Place Standing on the Road

For The Week Of:
October 9, 2006

Written by Hugh Howard
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Nick Waychoff

This week, The College of Wooster menês soccer team looks to maintain its spot atop the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with two league matches. The Fighting Scots, currently in a three-way tie for first in the NCAC standings and fifth in the NCAA Div. III Great Lakes Region coachesê poll, travel to Allegheny College (8-2-2, 2-2-0 NCAC) on Wednesday, Oct. 11, for a night game (7 p.m.). It will mark the 25th meeting between the two squads, with Wooster holding a narrow 12-10-2 advantage in the series. One of the two ties came last season (1-1). On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Scots have another road match, as they square off against Oberlin College (5-3-4, 2-1-1 NCAC) at 2:30 p.m. Wooster has won 31 of 46 games all-time versus the Yeomen (31-13-2), however, the Scots were clipped by them in 2005 by a 1-0 score.

Last Week: Wooster was victorious in its lone meeting of the week, putting the Scots in a tie with Oberlin and Ohio Wesleyan University ahead of the rest of the the NCAC (2-0-1) and at 8-1-1 overall.
On Oct. 7, the Scots handed Wittenberg University a 2-0 defeat, behind a goal and an assist in the second half from Nick Waychoff (Cleveland Hts., Ohio / Cleveland Heights). Wooster had a man-advantage for nearly 60 minutes after a Wittenberg player was issued a red card in the 32nd minute. The Scots finally took advantage early in the second half, when Waychoff gained possession about 40 yards out, passed it left to Trevor Day (Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth), who dribbled a couple of times towards the goal, then pulled it out and found Waychoff wide open at the top of the box. Waychoff, in turn, blasted the ball into the lower right corner for his second goal of the season. The Tigers nearly came up with the equalizer during the 63rd minute, but Wooster goalkeeper Erik Larson (El Paso, Texas / Stony Point) saved two point-blank shots. Steve Fracasso (Wadsworth, Ohio / Wadsworth) tacked on an insurance goal with 1:18 left, heading one in from just outside the goal mouth on the left after Waychoff lofted a pass to him. Defensively, Larson, who ended up with four total saves, completed the shutout, marking his sixth in 10 matches this year.