Braves Defeat Statesmen
Ottawa, Kan. — William Penn women’s lacrosse once more took on one of the top teams in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. With the Statesmen holding their own in the first 30 minutes, the Braves put WPU behind them in the second half, as Ottawa ran off with a 18-9 win. The team falls to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the KCAC.
The Braves were on the board first, as they took the opening possession into their offensive end. Working it around, they put one past Madison Reed (Fr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) to get the scoring started. But the navy and gold were quick to respond, as their first possession also paid dividends. Emma Lady (Sr., Richmond, Ind., Masters of Sports Management) created a connection to Hallie Clark (Fr., Centerville, Utah), who drove in and scored to make it 1-1.
With 24:14 left in the half, Ottawa scored again but three minutes later, Clark would receive another scrumptious pass from Lady, potting her second goal to keep the game even. Three more goals from the Braves seemed to put the game out of reach with 7:43 left in the first frame. However, WPU took back the initiative thanks to Bailee Royal (Fr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management). After some good teamwork in the attacking end, Royal scored on a great drive to make it 5-3. Clark then picked her out with a well-timed pass a couple minutes later, as Royal zipped in her second goal to make it 5-4 with 3:21 to go. Both sides got a couple more attempts at the net, but no one scored, as the Braves took a 5-4 lead into halftime.
The Statesmen were close on the stat sheet, having been outshot only 15-12, while the team had won nine of the 10 draws in the half. The squad also picked up 15 ground balls and got seven saves from Reed.
However, the second half got away from William Penn, as Ottawa scored at a blistering rate. Hope remained right after the opening draw, as Jenna Donlan (Fr., Tampa, Fla., Business Management) scored the first tally of the half, on the back of a gorgeous feed from MacKenzie Petersen (Fr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting). However, the 5-5 tie quickly tilted to the home side.
With four goals in four minutes, the Statesmen were soon down 9-5. A quick strike from Royal with 19:59 to go got the team back on the board, but 10 minutes later, it was 15-6. Mia Arnone (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Digital Communication) then got on the board, collecting an assist on the hat trick goal for Clark and then scoring herself with 2:11 to go. After the next draw, Clark lanced in her fourth of the game. But the Braves added salt to the wound by scoring twice in the final 30 seconds to take the game 18-9.
Ottawa outshot WPU 45-19 at the final horn. The Statesmen won 15 draws while the Braves won 14. William Penn had eight successful clearances and picked up 25 ground balls. Clark had five total shots, with her four shots on goal all going in. Petersen had four shots in the game, while Lady had three shots and two assists. Royal had all three of her shots go in. Reed made 15 saves in the contest, while Clark had 13 wins in the draw circle.
“The team played well against a competitive team,” said Head Coach Corrine Smeak. “They continued to fight for possession of the ball and never gave up. They played as a cohesive unit until the end and met all of our team goals. They exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to see what they don on Thursday against Missouri Valley”
Next Up: The Vikings will roll into town on Thursday, April 1, at 2 p.m.
