Second Half Dooms William Penn Vs. Madonna
Livonia, Mich.–The Statesmen women’s lacrosse team was right in the thick of it at the mid-way point Friday, but could not keep up with Madonna in a 9-5 non-conference setback.
WPU (1-2), which was outshot just 31-24, trailed 5-4 at halftime, but was unable to slow down the Crusaders (4-1).
The afternoon opened with 10 scoreless minutes before MU broke through with 19:34 remaining. The home squad tacked on two more goals before Mia Arnone (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Digital Communication) found the netting unassisted in the 18th minute.
Two additional Madonna goals put the Statesmen down 5-1 with six minutes to go. WPU then went on a tear, scoring three times in the matter of 87 seconds to pull to within one at intermission. The first tally came from Grace Dempsey (Fr., Appleton, Wis., Mechanical Engineering) unassisted, while Dempsey helped Hallie Clark (Fr., Centerville, Utah, Undecided) with the next goal. Bailee Royal (Fr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management) completed the stretch with an unassisted goal inside of two minutes left.
Unfortunately, the Crusaders reeled off four consecutive goals in the second half before MacKenzie Petersen (Fr., Albertville, Minn., General Accounting) ended the day with an unassisted goal in the 58th minute of play.
Madison Reed (Fr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) kept the navy and gold close with 14 saves.
William Penn was strong in the clearing game in the first stanza at 10-for-12, but was far less efficient in the latter half at 12-for-18 (22-for-30 overall). The Statesmen also committed nine more turnovers (36-27) and won seven fewer groundballs (23-30).
Petersen topped her team with eight shots, while Arnone was next with six attempts.
“Unfortunately, we fell short, but today’s game was a learning opportunity for us,” Associate Head Coach Corrine Smeak said. “We found some of our weak spots to focus on for our upcoming games, but also some things we are excelling at. Our players continue to grow as a team and as individuals, which will help our success in future games.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Gainesville, Ga., Monday to face Brenau in non-conference action at noon (CST).
