Hoffman, Ferguson Pace William Penn to First Win of Year on Senior Day
Oskaloosa–Emily Ferguson (Sr., Waterloo, N.Y., Exercise Science) and Ashlyn Hoffman (Sr., Bend, Ore., Nursing) each scored seven times as the Statesmen women’s lacrosse team blew past Mount Mercy 17-10 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.
WPU (1-3, 1-0 Heart) collected its first victory of 2024 by outshooting the Mustangs 37-18. Mount Mercy (0-6, 0-2 Heart) is in its first year sponsoring women’s lacrosse.
The hosts, who were celebrating nine individuals on Senior Day, dominated from the opening whistle, starting the game with six unanswered goals.
Hoffman opened the day’s scoring with an unassisted tally just 2:22 into the afternoon. One minute later, Kenzington Winget (Sr., West Jordan, Utah., Political Science) took a pass from Hoffman and deposited it in the netting.
Three of the next four goals were by Ferguson, while Hoffman again scored to make it 6-0 in favor of the home team.
Unfortunately, the Mustangs responded with three-consecutive goals, but they would never get closer that. Ahead 6-3, the hosts then got a pair of scores from Ferguson, while Hoffman and Winget also beat the Mustang goalie for a 15-7 halftime edge.
The same offenders continued to do the work after intermission as WPU stayed on top by at least a six-goal margin throughout the final 30 minutes of play.
Hoffman finished the victory with seven goals on only eight shots, while also producing a pair of assists. Ferguson matched her fellow senior with seven goals as well. Both were also accomplished in ground balls (four for each) and draw controls (eight for Ferguson, seven for Hoffman).
Winget made her presence felt as well with three goals and a team-best four assists, while Shauna Morton (Jr., Gainesville, Fla., Sports Management) and Victoria Negron (Sr., Miami, Florida, Exercise Science) both finished with one helper.
Catrina Dinehart (Grad., Palmyra, N.Y., Master’s of Sports Management) notched four saves in the win.
The Statesmen rolled to victory despite having control issues (both teams had 19 turnovers). Clearing the ball out of their defensive end on 12 of 13 tries was a huge reason for the navy and gold success, while an even bigger factor was William Penn stopping MMU on 10 of its 20 clearing attempts.
“The ladies had an outstanding performance and earned a well-deserved victory on Senior Night,” Head Coach Joshua Bell said. “We changed up a few things in practice and tried to shift our focus before the game and it worked. The defense took names and laid bodies. The offense was buzzing and put numbers on the board. Everyone did their jobs today; I could not be more proud of their performance.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa next Wednesday as it hosts Missouri Baptist in non-conference action at 4 p.m.
