Scots Looking to Win NCAC Championship at OWU Again

Nina Dine

While The College of Wooster did not earn the right to host this weekend’s four-team North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Fighting Scots should still feel confident heading to Ohio Wesleyan University, where they won last year’s NCAC championship. Wooster ended up in a three-way tie for second-place in this NCAC regular season, taking the No. 3 seed via a tiebreaker, and will meet second-seeded Denison University (6-8) in one semifinal Friday, May 2, at 5 p.m. The No. 1 seed, Ohio Wesleyan (8-4), will host fourth-seeded Allegheny College (6-8) in the other semi, which will take place earlier that day at 2:30 p.m. The two winners will then battle on Saturday, May 3, for the NCAC crown and the league’s automatic berth into next week’s NCAA Div. III Tournament. Last year, in a nearly identical scenario, the third-seeded Scots beat Denison 19-12 in the semifinals and then toppled the host and top-seeded Battling Bishops, scoring the last three goals of a 13-10 victory. Wooster has won four of the last six NCAC titles.

Last Week: The Scots split two games, resulting in a final regular season record of 9-5, including 4-2 in the NCAC.

On April 23, Wooster scored the first six goals, two apiece from Hillary Darragh (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Twp.) and Carly Carey (Faribault, Minn. / Academy at Charlemont – Mass.), however, visiting Ohio Wesleyan stormed back and eventually upended the Scots 12-11 in a crucial conference contest. The Battling Bishops accounted for four of the last five goals of the first half to pull within 7-4, and then carried that momentum over into the second with a 3-1 run. Wooster led 9-8 with 20:16 remaining and it stayed that way for more than 10 minutes until Ohio Wesleyan ended the scoreless drought, kick-starting a three-goal run that gave the Bishops an 11-9 lead. The Scots got back within one on Carey goals at the 5:13 and 0:52 marks, but they could not come up with the equalizer. For the game, Carey totaled six points on four goals and two assists, while Nina Dine (Tuckahoe, N.Y. / E.C. Fieldston School) had a hat trick. On the other side, Jamie Dannenberg (Framingham, Mass. / Framingham) kept Wooster within striking distance by matching a season high with 15 saves.

On April 26, senior Lauren DeZellar (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie), in her final home game, tallied a career-high five points on three goals and two assists, leading Wooster to a 15-10 win over St. Vincent College at Carl Dale Memorial Field. After trailing 4-2 early on, DeZellar fed Carey for a goal, sparking a 7-1 Scot run that covered the remainder of the first for a 9-5 lead at halftime. The closest St. Vincent would get in the second was 10-7, but the Scots then responded with a 5-1 rally to pull away. In addition to DeZellar, who had only one previous hat trick in her career, Carey, Dine, and senior Cassie Brown (New Fairfield, Conn. / New Fairfield) posted three-point games. Carey and Dine each contributed two goals and an assist, while Brown tallied one goal and two helpers. Noteworthy, seniors Jess Baylor (Milton, Mass. / Noble and Greenough) and Allison Rubin (Brighton, Mich. / Brighton) played integral roles, too, with Baylor recording one goal and one assist and Rubin registering two goals.