WOOSTER, Ohio -- For the second time this week, the Allegheny College men's lacrosse team engaged in a defensive struggle, as the Gators were defeated by a former North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival, the College of Wooster, by a 9-6 final score on Saturday.

Despite facing a season-high 45 shots, the Gators (2-3) held the Fighting Scots - who put up 17 goals against Albion College in their last game on March 8 - to a season-low nine goals. But the Wooster (6-0) defense was equal to the task, as the hosts kept Allegheny off the scoreboard for the first 36:25.

Offensively, the Gators came to life in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Once starting goalie Paul Chandler was pulled from the cage, Allegheny pounced on backup netminder Jason Astle, who did not make a save and allowed five goals in nearly 24 minutes of action.

Inside the Box Score

• Wooster finished with a 45-to-20 advantage in shots and a 21-to-12 lead in shots on goal.
• The Fighting Scots also collected more ground balls, 51-to-34, and held a slight advantage in faceoff wins, 9-to-8.
• Despite the disparity in the box score, the Allegheny defense limited Wooster to only nine goals.
• Starting goalie David Kratzenberg (Latrobe, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) made a game-high 12 saves and collected one ground ball.
• Defender Cassady Bouthet (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) led all Gators with three caused turnovers, while Graham Nash (Innisfil, Ont./Nantyr Shores) forced a pair of turnovers.
• Nick Gralewski (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) scored twice with one assist for a team-high three points.
• JP Rakis (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) scored two goals, while Aidan D'Amato (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) netted one with one assist.
• Jack Cushwa (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) also had a goal for the Gators, and Pete Schellbach (New York, N.Y./Salisbury School) dished out one assist.
• At the faceoff dot, Ryan Therkorn (Falls Church, Va./George C. Marshall) won 7-of-15 draws and picked up a team-leading six ground balls.
• Vinny DiLeo (1g-3a) and Lane Kellogg (2g-2a) led Wooster with four points apiece.

News and Notes

• Wooster leads the all-time series, 6-0, but Allegheny held the Fighting Scots to the fewest goals they've scored in a game in their six meetings.
• No team has held the Scots to single-digit goals since Wittenberg University beat Wooster, 13-8, on April 23, 2022, a span of eight games.
• For the second game in a row, Kratzenberg has made 12 saves and held the opponent to nine goals.
• Grawleski tied a single-game career-high with three points.
• Rakis and Cushwa have scored at least one goal in all five games so far in 2023.

Up Next
Allegheny will look to rebound when its four-game road trip continues in Berea, Ohio, against Baldwin Wallace University on Wednesday, March 15. The Gators and Yellow Jackets will meet under the lights at 7:00 p.m.