WPU Avenges Loss, Drops Ravens for Championship Title and Nationals Berth
Atchison, Kan.–It was a case of déjà vu for the Statesmen men’s lacrosse team Saturday as, for the second time in three years, it defeated top-seeded Benedictine on the road to claim the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship, winning 15-10 in the Finals to earn a spot to nationals.
No. 2-seeded William Penn (12-3), which had fallen to the Ravens (12-2) by a 10-5 decision back on April 18, used a dominant third quarter to pull away and grab its third-consecutive berth to the NAIA National Championship. The Championship will be held in Decatur, Ala. from May 12-16 at the Jack Allen Sports Complex.
It marks the fourth year in a row that WPU has claimed at least the regular season conference title, the tournament title, or both.
In an exact replay of the 2024 postseason, the Statesmen were denied the regular season crown by BC, but then went to the Jayhawk State and grabbed the more important tournament championship, as it moved on to the national stage.
Benedictine went on top early Saturday, scoring twice in the opening two minutes on its home turf. The navy and gold fortunately responded right away with two Kenny Bohney (Sr., Moorhead, Minn., Exercise Science) goals separated by just 23 seconds.
In a back-and-forth first half, the hosts recaptured the edge 30 seconds later, but WPU never let them have it again with three straight scores. Matt Scott (Fr., Denver, Colo., Sports Management) opened the run by putting away a pass from Garrett Katrana (So., Parker, Colo., Industrial Technology), while Lucas Cox (Fr., Memphis, Tenn., Kinesiology) did the work by himself. Everett Breniser (So., Centennial, Colo., Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management), with help from Scott, pushed the advantage to 5-3 with 4:33 left in a high-scoring first stanza.
The Statesmen would be outscored 3-1 down the stretch with Harley Williams (Sr., Edmonton, Alberta, Political Science) beating the goalkeeper off an assist from Bohney to make it 6-6 after 15 entertaining minutes in the Championship Final.
The sides remained in lock step in the second period with two goals apiece, including winners by Scott (unassisted) and Max Barr (Jr., West Des Moines, Iowa, Business Management), with help from Nolan Soller (Fr., Owatonna, Minn., Industrial Technology).
The 8-8 halftime tie would not last long as the Statesmen controlled the third quarter by posting an 18-9 margin in shots. Overall, WPU owned a 45-35 edge in shots.
Scott started it off by scoring via help from Nate Levy (So., Lynwood, Wash., Biology), and William Penn never trailed again.
Goals from Bohney (assist from Katrana), Levy (assist from Scott), and Barr (unassisted) followed before the Ravens stopped the hemorrhage with their lone score of the period at the 6:00 mark.
Bohney and Scott kept the momentum on WPU’s side, though, with late scores to advance the lead to 14-9 with one quarter left to play.
The Statesmen defense then rose up, locking down Benedictine the rest of the way. Neither squad was able to break through for the first 9:17 of the fourth until Katrana buried a shot into the netting with the assist credited to Blake Cyboron (Sr., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Industrial Technology).
A fourth-quarter shutout would have been obtained if not for a meaningless BC goal in the waning seconds.
Scott headlined the offense with four goals and two assists, while Bohney was right on his heels with four winners and one helper. Katrana contributed one goal and two assists, while Barr (two goals) and Levy (one goal, one assist) were part of multiple scores as well.
The victors were better in turnovers by committing 29, compared to 32 for Benedictine. However, William Penn had to overcame winning just 12 of the 28 faceoffs, while also losing the ground ball battle 43-34.
The defenses were not kind in clear attempts; WPU finished 15-for-26, while the Ravens were 10-for-19.
Bryce Campbell (Sr., Meridian, Idaho, Kinesiology) won eight faceoffs, while he, Cox, and Soller all picked up four ground balls. Defensively, Soller and Bradley Howell (Sr., Layton, Utah, Psychology) both caused three turnovers. The Statesmen caused a total of 17 Raven giveaways.
Connor Russell (Sr., Grand Haven, Mich., Applied Computer Science) recorded 13 saves to earn the victory.
“The guys had plenty of fuel for this one, and they burned it efficiently,” Head Coach Luke Christiansen said. “I am extremely proud of their effort in this game to secure another title. I am grateful to this team and all of the guys who have been a part of bringing all the championships here. Now it is time to go win a game at nationals.”
