Women’s Lacrosse Bows Out in Quarterfinals

Ottawa, Kan.– The women’s lacrosse tournament for the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference had quarterfinal action going on Saturday. William Penn tried to take down Ottawa but the team struggled to find goals, especially in the second half. The Braves made the Statesmen pay for every mistake and the home side motored to a 15-3 victory. WPU falls to 6-8 overall as the loss will conclude the team’s season.

The Braves controlled the game after the opening draw, as they got the first couple of shots away. The home side hounded the navy and gold defenders as they tried to bring the ball up the field, giving them few passing lanes to work with. With a couple of turnovers, the Statesmen never got a clear and that resulted in the opening goal for Ottawa coming just two and a half minutes into the game. Despite the early deficit, the Statesmen rebounded nicely. A free position shot for Mia Arnone (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Digital Communication) just missed but the team got the ball on the race to the end line. With the attackers rotating positions to create some open lanes in the crease, the ball came to MacKenzie Petersen (Fr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting), who lanced in a goal to tie the game at 1-1.

Unfortunately for WPU, that was all the only goal of the half for the team, as they could not generate enough shots on goal the rest of the game. The Braves scored with 21:52 remaining in the first half to take a lead they would never relinquish. They would then find five more over the final 20 minutes, as Ottawa would take a 7-1 lead into halftime.

That is not to say that WPU did not have any chances, as the squad put up 12 shots in the first 30 minutes, with Ottawa tallying 17. However, the Statesmen missed a couple free position shots and were forced into some tough looks by the Braves. Madison Reed (Fr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) made three saves in the first half in net.

Hoping for a better second half, the team was more efficient but not as productive overall. Hallie Clark (Fr., Centerville, Utah) got the team back on the scoreboard with 28:35 remaining on a smart looking shot that bounced up and in. But the team could not carry that momentum forward, as the penalty count rocketed upward. Ottawa scored four goals over the next 13 minutes of action, three of them during a man-up situation. Clark scored a power play goal for WPU off a great pass from Arnone with 15:56 to go in the game but that would be the final goal for William Penn in the match.

The Braves scored with 13:10 to go and added in three more goals on the power play over the final 10 minutes of action. The hosts outshot the Statesmen 23-4 in the final frame, posting a 40-16 edge in shots for the entire game and a 28-9 advantage in shots on goal. Ottawa won 13 of the 20 draws and WPU had only 13 successful clears.

Reed made 13 stops, doing some yeomen’s work to try to keep the team in the contest. Arnone had eight shots, four on target, to lead the team. Petersen was second with four shots, while Clark scored on both of her shots. Rea-Samone Brown (Fr., Graham, Wash., Sociology) once again topped the team with seven ground ball pickups.

“The girls played hard the entire sixty minutes and left everything they had on the field,” said Head Coach Corrine Smeak. “This game was a challenge and they overcame obstacles mid game, they should be proud of the way they played. This team has accomplished so much this season and has a bright future ahead of them.”