Women’s Lacrosse Loses to Marian
Indianapolis, Ind. — Returning to the site of their first game in program history, William Penn women’s lacrosse faced #10 Marian for a Sunday showdown. While the Statesmen were able to show their growth from last year, the Knights once more took the victory, winning 16-6. The Statesmen fall to 1-2 on the season.
The navy and gold started off as the stronger team, as MacKenzie Petersen (Fr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting) scooped up a loose ball and entered the attacking end. Mia Arnone (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Digital Communication) collected the ball on the near sideline and she jogged below the goal line. With little resistance, she continued her run and slapped home the wrap-around attempt to put WPU up 1-0 just 41 seconds into the contest.
Petersen won the next draw and Bailee Royal (Fr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management) fired the next shot for WPU, but it sailed high. William Penn also had shots from Petersen and Hallie Clark (Fr., Centerville, Utah), but neither could convert them into goals. With 24:18 to go, Marian leveled the score, with a shot that beat Madison Reed (Fr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) to her far post.
Three minutes later, Marian scored again to go up 2-1. However, the Statesmen found their footing for the next few minutes and got a few shots away, forcing the Knight’s goalie to make a couple stops. Despite the spirited push, the Knights scored the next four goals to take a commanding 6-1 edge.
With 9:17 to go, WPU forced a turnover and Araceli Angel (Sr., Tama, Iowa, Masters of Sports Management) restarted play from the sideline. Royal took the pass and then split two defenders with a striking spin move, shooting over a third defender just outside the crease to score, making it 6-2.
Marian returned the favor with 6:20 on the clock to take a 7-2 lead but the navy and gold did not stop playing hard. Taking a pass and driving hard to the net, Jenna Donlan (Fr., Tampa, Fla., Business Management) was rewarded with a free position opportunity after she got pushed over from behind. She fired it low and inside the near post to make it 7-3, as she picked up her first goal of the year.
As the first half clock wound down, the defense knocked the ball down out of a Marian stick, allowing Petersen to advance down the far side line. She passed it to Emma Lady (Sr., Richmond, Ind., Masters of Sports Management), who at first tried to drive towards the net, but after being stopped, recycled to the top of the arc. Looking over her options, Clark popped open and the pass from Lady was on the mark, with Clark shooiting it in from close distance. Closing the gap to 7-4 and Marian unable to mount an attack in the final few seconds, the teams jogged off at the halftime horn, with the Statesmen trailing by three.
William Penn had 12 shots in the first half, with 10 being on target. Reed came up with 10 saves in the first 30 minutes, while the team was 3-12 in draw controls and 7-11 on successful clearances.
WPU, with four goals in the first half, had already performed better than when they took on the Knights last year, when they only managed two tallies in the entire game.
The first attack of the second half for WPU saw a turnover by the Statesmen in the arc, with Lady being sent to the penalty box on a cross check. Marian would score at the other end to go up 8-4 and they would score again a minute later on a free position shot to go up 9-4.
With the Knights tacking on two more goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period, the Statesmen would fall behind 11-4. Marian outscored WPU 9-2 in the second half and outshot the visitors 16-7.
The bright spots in the second half for William Penn offensively came from two brilliant individual efforts. First off was a dashing run from Petersen, who got a pass near midfield. She bolted into the attacking end, as no one from Marian stopped the ball carrier. Petersen got into the slot and placed her shot in the top corner to make it 12-5.
Not to be outdone, Royal got a pass from Reed deep in the defensive zone. She took off the other way and once more, not a single Knight got in the way. Entering a prime scoring area, Royal lanced her shot inside the far post to make it 16-6. With more scoring in the final 4:45, the Knights claimed their second-straight victory over WPU.
William Penn finished with 19 shots and 14 on goal, compared to 38 shots and 28 on the mark for Marian. The Statesmen won eight of the 24 draws and picked up 26 ground balls. The navy and gold were also 12-18 on successful clearances and were one-for-two on free position opportunities.
Reed made 12 saves in the contest for a save percentage of .429. Royal led the team with two goals and tied with Clark for a team-high five shots. Petersen had four shots, while Arnone and Lady each had two. In addition, Lady picked up the only assist of the day.
“We came out strong in the first half,” said Head Coach Corrine Smeak. “We had girls play new positions, which helped accomplish personal goals. They have grown a lot in the last year and that shows in the score. We are continuing to show gains with each game played and on Tuesday, we will come back strong.”
Next Up: The team will stay in Indiana and face Bethel (Ind.) on Tuesday, March 9, at 4 p.m.
