Langston Hood, Senior Sports Writer
The Wooster men’s lacrosse team has been on an absolute tear to start their season. Coach Eric Seideman has the Fighting Scots in tip-top shape as the group has already established the best start to a season in Wooster history. A trip to Greencastle, Indiana on April 1 to take on familiar NCAC foe DePauw would put that record start to the test. Ahead of their meeting, DePauw had been on a tear of their own. After starting the season with two contentious wins and three losses, prospects were abysmal for the rest of the Tigers’ season. However, the next three games would allow DePauw to find themselves in emphatic fashion. DePauw thrashed Hanover, Earlham and Salem State, recording 47 goals to their opponents four. This set the two teams on a collision course for a testy afternoon fixture from Reavis Stadium.
DePauw would get the show on the road with a goal 10 minutes into the first quarter, as the Wooster defense was bested for the first time on Saturday afternoon. But just two minutes later, youthful phenom Lane Kellogg ’26 leveled the game with a man-up effort assisted by Ben Byars ’24. The do-it-all forward leads the Scots in points this year and he showed his versatility by setting up Colton Beaudoin ’25 up for a goal of his own with 24 seconds left in the quarter. The quarter drew to a close with Wooster dominating on all fronts, other than the scoreboard. The Scots outshot DePauw 19-6 and forced five more saves from the Tigers’ goaltender, but were unable to take a commanding lead.
The second quarter would see the Scots notch another goal from another young contributor, as Luke Budd ’26 scored the Scots’ third goal of the day as Kellogg dished out another assist. Wooster would prove dangerous twice more, before DePauw pulled a goal back to cut Wooster’s lead to just one. The rest of the half would go back and forth as Wooster forced two saves out of DePauw and Wooster’s goaltender Paul Chandler ’24 made four saves. Coach Seideman’s run and gun offense was on full display as the Fighting Scots peppered the DePauw cage with 29 shots, but only forced eight saves. Captain Tucker Joseph ’23 emphasized Coach Seideman’s effect on Wooster saying, “Coach Seideman brought with him an incredibly fast paced and aggressive style of lacrosse, and the team was able to make this transition very smoothly.”
The second half of the game would play host to the Vinny DiLeo ’24 show as the junior had five shots in the first half, but was unable to find the back of the net. This trend would come to a grinding halt as DiLeo would score his 30th goal of the season with eight minutes left in the third. Two minutes later, DiLeo would strike again during a man-up situation off the feed from Will Fink ’25. This would establish a 5-2 lead for Wooster, which the Tigers would quickly reduce to 5-3 only a minute after DiLeo’s goal.
In the fourth quarter, DePauw roared back, scoring two consecutive goals in the first two minutes of the quarter to tie the game 5-5. However, the resilient Scots would fight right back as talented faceoff man Rory Zahren ’25 found the back of the net thanks to an assist from Budd. Zahren cited Coach Seideman’s cultural contributions as a key to the Scot’s success saying, “I think we have developed a culture and chemistry that is unlike any other. We are able to trust and believe in each other and know that when one or two guys aren’t having the best game, other guys will step up to support and do what is needed to win.” Zahren lived this trust out as he notched his 17th goal of the season to put the Scots ahead once and for all. The DiLeo show continued as he added two more goals in a 70-second stretch to put the Scots up 8-5. Wooster’s most efficient quarter allowed them to take the advantage and vanquish DePauw.
Wooster’s defensive prowess was on full display as they allowed the second-fewest goals in a game this season thanks to contributions from the whole team. Casey Steffen ’24 was instrumental as he recorded eight caused turnovers, a statistic which he leads nationally. His average of seven per game ranks just second nationally (D-III leader Elias Libby has only played three games this year). Mason Poisson ’23 also recorded three caused turnovers to add to the team’s performance. Chandler played his part as well, contributing his fifth double-digit save game in a row.
Poisson and company are eyeing the powerhouses of the NCAC as the defenseman said, “I am looking forward to continuing our conference play, and seeing how we match up against some of the elite teams within our conference such as Ohio Wesleyan and Denison.”
Kellogg identified a handful of Coach Siedeman’s defining characteristics saying, “Coach Seidman has done an incredible job with the culture of the team. For me culture is more than just how a team acts, but how we practice and how we get better. Coach is a brainiac when it comes to lacrosse. He is able to easily get across teaching points that help us do the little things better. He’s hyper focused on detail and that has started to heavily translate to the team. He is very encouraging and kind, he makes every player feel that they are important and that also translates between teammates. We have become incredibly close as a team and we all care about each other and I believe it starts with coach.”
Good luck to the Fighting Scots men’s lacrosse team as they look to continue their record start!
The Wooster Voice 