Pilots Top Statesmen 18-11
Mishawaka, Ind. — Looking to bounce back after two-straight defeats, William Penn women’s lacrosse made their way to Bethel (Ind.) to face the Pilots, who were 0-2 on the season. William Penn struck first but BU put together a better first half, leading 9-2 at the break. With each side scoring nine goals in the second half, the Statesmen fell by a final score of 18-11, dropping to 1-3 overall on the season.
The Statesmen would find the back of the net first, with Hallie Clark (Fr., Centerville, Utah) providing the finishing touches. Emma Lady (Sr., Richmond, Ind., Masters of Sports Management) spotted Clark popping open right in front of the net and she put the pass on Clark’s stick. The native of Utah then used her feet to shake two defenders and put the ball home to get WPU up 1-0.
The Pilots leveled the score just 29 seconds later and both teams then battled for control, but WPU committed a foul in their defensive end Giving up a free position chance, BU put it past Madison Reed (Fr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) to take a 2-1 edge.
William Penn then put in yeomen’s work to keep the ball out of their own end, but the Pilots slipped another shot through to take their advantage to 3-1. On the back heel, with 22:22 to go, Reed made a point-blank save on a free position shot to keep WPU in the contest and reset the momentum.
After a successful clearance, Bailee Royal (Fr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management) made a drive but lost the ball in a scrum of players. She then was able to find it again and slipped behind the net. Spotting Lady near the top of the arc, Royal flipped it over the Bethel goalie to the Indiana native, who scored to make it 3-2.
Unfortunately for William Penn, Bethel scored the next six to take a large 9-2 lead. With 4:31 to go in the half, MacKenzie Petersen (Fr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting) got a shot away that forced the Bethel goalie into a save, but that was the only other offensive action WPU could muster in the half.
Down 9-2, William Penn were outshot 21-6 in the first 30 minutes. Reed made four saves in net, while the team picked up 13 ground balls and went three-for-three on clearances in the first period.
The second half produced a more balanced game between the two sides, as each team scored nine times and took 14 shots. However, it only took 33 seconds for Bethel to strike first and another 30 seconds for them to double-down, pushing their lead to 11-2.
William Penn found a response from Lady, who drove the net and put it home for her second score of the night. With 26:05 to go, a turnover led to Royal charging the other way, as she wove her way to the net to strike, making the score 11-4.
After the Pilots found another goal, they committed a foul on Lady to set her up with a free position opportunity. She punched in her third goal of the game to make it 12-5. A couple minutes later, it was Clark who converted a free position chance to make it 14-6, as the two teams traded goals just about 15 seconds apart.
Mia Arnone (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Digital Communication) scored with 11:52 remaining in the game, the result of a turnover that was scooped off the floor by Clark.
A few minutes later, Araceli Angel (Sr., Tama, Iowa, Masters of Sports Management) picked up a loose ball, which then led to Clark scoring with 8:25 to go, as the Statesmen closed the gap to 16-9. Lady potted her fourth score and Royal her second over the final 10 minutes of action, as WPU would take the loss 18-11.
The navy and gold finished with 20 total shots, while wining 11 ground balls and going four-for-four on clearances. The Statesmen also made two of their tree free-position shots.
Leading the way was Lady, who scored four goals on eight shots, of which seven hit the net. Royal and Clark each collected hat-tricks, as Royal set a new career-high for goals in a game. Royal had four shots and three on target, while Clark had all four of her shots hit the frame. Reed made seven saves in the outing while facing 25 shots on goal.
Next Up: With a couple days to rest and practice, the team will face the Spartans of Missouri Baptist for the first time on Saturday, March 13, at 11 a.m.
