Scots Advance to NCAC Tournament Finals With 19-12 Victory Over Denison

Taryn Higgins

Less than a week after Denison University’s women’s lacrosse team handed The College of Wooster a heartbreaking one-goal loss, putting a damper on the Fighting Scots’ hopes of finishing with a perfect record in North Coast Athletic Conference action and the No.1 seed and hosting rights for this year’s NCAC Tournament, the Scots gained revenge on the Big Red, earning a 19-12 upset in the tournament semifinals.

The Scots (11-4) took a 2-0 lead with nearly three minutes expired in the game behind goals by Taryn Higgins and Emily Baab, but Denison (7-8), the tournament’s No. 2 seed, responded with two unanswered tallies of their own to even the score 2-2 at the 23:56 mark in the first period.

Annie Steward and Baab netted consecutive score to regain the two-goal cushion, however the Big Red’s Quinn Simmons found the back of the net twice within a one minute time-frame to re-tie the game at 4-4 with 15:19 remaining in the half.

The game would continue to be back-and-forth, as the teams traded goals twice, before the Scots would explode with a 9-1 run that spanned from the last five minutes of the first half until the 24:58 mark of the second half, which would prove to be the turning point of the game, giving Wooster a 13-5 lead.

During the Scots’ key stretch, Higgins and Hillary Darragh each found the back of the net twice, while Wooster also saw goals by Steward, Carly Carey, Cassie Brown and Jess Baylor.

The Big Red lit up the board two more times, the latter coming at the 18:49 mark in the second period, but three unanswered scores by the Scots gave Wooster a 16-7 cushion with 12:40 remaining in the game.

Denison managed three more goals to the Scots’ one before time would expire, but it was Wooster who emerged as the victor, moving onto Saturdays’ finals.

The game was evenly matched from all facets, as both teams recorded 41 shots on the day, while the Scots held a slight advantages in both ground balls (24-23) and draw controls (18-15).

Another key element in Wooster’s win was the play of goalkeeper Jamie Dannenberg, as she recorded 13 saves on the afternoon, while Denison’s net-minder, Carolyn Hicks, stopped seven shots on the opposite end of the field.

The Scots once again saw a balanced scoring attack, with nine different players recording goals, led by Higgins, who recorded four goals and also picked up three groundballs and forced turnovers. Baab had a four-point outing, with three goals and an assist, while Brown also had a four-point day via two goals and two helpers. Also recording multiple-points on the day was Darragh with three goals, while Baylor and Steward each tallied a score and an assist.

The Big Red were led by Simmons’ four goals, while Read Powell (3 goals), Rebecca Schoenherr (2 goals) and Meg Wilcox (2 goals, 1 assist) all recorded multiple-point outings.