Putzier’s Big Day Leads WPU to Victory on Inaugural Senior Day
Oskaloosa–Breck Putzier (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) participated in nine scores as the Statesmen men’s lacrosse team defeated Midland 14-2 in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday.
William Penn (9-4, 5-3 KCAC), which matches the program’s longest winning streak at five games, outshot the Warriors 47-20.
The first half was of the defensive kind with the two sides combining for just seven goals, beginning with neither side scoring through the first seven minutes of action.
Midland finally broke the scoreless tie at the 7:38 mark of the opening quarter. WPU remained in MU’s rearview for the next two minutes, but Brady Treloar (So., Portland, Ore., Business Management) started a run of five unanswered with an unassisted goal with 5:34 left in the first stanza.
Putzier then got his impressive outing going by finishing off a pass from Boston Romero (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) in a man-up situation. Tim Pennington (So., Boise, Idaho, Biology) closed out the period with an unassisted score to make it 3-1 after 15 minutes of play.
Putzier tallied both of WPU’s goals in the second quarter with assists credited to Nate Blasingame (Fr., Portland, Ore.) and then Treloar.
The Warriors trimmed the advantage to three at halftime, but that would be the closest the teams would be as the second half was dominated by the navy and gold. Putzier, who finished with six goals and three assists, started the 9-0 second half with help from Pennington.
Daniel McQuade (So., Tucson, Ariz., Political Science) scored next off a pass from Putzier, while Marcus Glass (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) managed the first of three second-half goals with an assist to Pennington.
Glass and Putzier both put twice put the ball past the Midland goalkeeper in the fourth stanza, while Romero also scored in the period. Eli Dillon (So., Portland, Ore.), with an assist to Ryan Epps (So., Portland, Ore., Mechanical Engineering), closed out the day’s tallies.
Ryan Swarts (So., Boise, Idaho, Industrial Technology), who won 11 of his 19 faceoffs, also recorded an assist in Saturday’s victory.
The trio of Romero, Treloar, and Pennington all ended with one goal and two assists.
Jeremy Smith (Sr., Camano Island, Wash., Sociology) guided the defense with five saves.
Prior to the game, four individuals were recognized as part of the program’s inaugural senior class. The group included Smith, Epps, Carter Lucas (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn., Mechanical Engineering), and Joshua Bell (Fr., Castle Rock, Colo.).
“We had a feeling if we made the game about settled offense and defense that Midland would not be able to play with us,” Head Coach Luke Christiansen said. “Our guys did an excellent job of executing the game play to get us a big win on Senior Day.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to St. Louis, Mo. next Wednesday to face Missouri Baptist in KCAC play at 7 p.m.
