Heart Finale Ends in Blowout Loss

Atchison, Kan.–The William Penn University women’s lacrosse team completed its regular season Saturday with a 19-4 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Benedictine.

The Statesmen (10-3, 3-2 Heart), who were outshot 37-19, had some chances, but struggled to convert on them. WPU also ended up on the short end of a 17-10 margin in draw controls.

With the loss, William Penn has dropped to the #3 seed for the Heart Championship. The navy and gold will travel to Davenport next Wednesday to face #2 seed St. Ambrose in the semifinals. Game time has yet to be announced.

WPU was held scoreless in the first quarter of Saturday’s bout as the Ravens (8-3, 5-0 Heart) flew out to a 7-0 advantage. William Penn’s only score of the first half came late in the second quarter off a shot from Emily Ferguson (Jr., Waterloo, N.Y., Exercise Science).

The Statesmen were a bit more successful offensively in the latter half, tallying three goals, but could not make a dent as Benedictine kept piling onto its lead. MacKenzie Petersen (Sr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting), who paced William Penn with two goals, scored both in the fourth quarter, while Bailee Royal (Sr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management) found the back of the net as well.

Madison Reed (Sr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) recorded nine saves in the game.