GAMBIER, Ohio – The College of Wooster (4-1, 3-0 NCAC) got off to a good start and later held off Kenyon College (0-1, 0-1 NCAC) by a 15-11 count on Wednesday in North Coast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse action at the Field at Benson Bowl.
 
For the Ladies, it was their first game since March 9, 2020, a span of 390 days.
 
Wooster scored six of the game's first seven goals about 14 minutes in which led to Kenyon switching goalies. That early surge saw five Fighting Scots score, including two by Jill Murray.
 
Kenyon pulled to within three, 6-3, when Maya Fair scored unassisted at 7:11, but by halftime the purple and white trailed 8-4 following a goal from Tatumn Eccleston.
 
After the break, the Ladies nearly tied things up. A little over five minutes into the second stanza, Murray pushed Wooster's advantage to 10-6 after a pass from Miura Wiley. Following that Fighting Scots goal, Kenyon found some traction.
 
Sophomore Caroline O'Neil started a small, three-goal spurt for the Ladies as she scored unassisted at 22:24. About four minutes later, Fair pulled the team to within two, 10-8, on another unassisted score. Kenyon's run was then capped off by Ella Murphy at 17:45. Her second goal of the game pushed the Ladies' bench into a frenzy.
 
The Ladies gained a few possessions after that goal, but a turnover, a saved O'Neil shot by Wooster goalie Katie Shideler at 15:20, and another save by Shideler at 13:26, kept the one-goal game in Wooster's favor.
 
Following that last save by Shideler, Katie Harvey scored on a free-position shot to boost the visitor's lead to 11-9. For the Ladies, another Fair goal at 11:37 brought the deficit back to one again, 11-10, but Kenyon could not get over that hump as the Fighting Scots closed the game scoring four goals.
 
Kenyon had plenty of chances as it outshot Wooster 36-24 including a plus-seven (25-18) shots-on-goal advantage. Shideler did her part though, notching 14 saves.
 
The same two teams will meet this coming Saturday at Wooster at 11 a.m.