Statesmen Earn Scoreless Draw with Baker
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Baldwin City, Kan.–The William Penn women’s soccer team posted another huge road effort Sunday, tying Baker 0-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
WPU (7-5-1, 4-4-1 Heart) was outshot 23-7, but thwarted every single attempt by the Wildcats (4-5-4, 4-2-2 Heart), who entered the contest tied for second in the Heart. BU, which is ranked 29th nationally, reached the NAIA National Semifinals a year ago. The Statesmen are 4-1-1 in their last six games and is 4-2-1 on the road this fall.
The hosts owned a 16-5 edge in shots in the first half and again bettered the navy and gold 7-2 in the two overtime sessions, but the Statesmen stood strong on the defensive end. Riley Ludwig (Jr., Big Bear City, Calif., Psychology) headlined that effort with 12 saves for her third shutout of the campaign.
Raunice Butler (Jr., Nassau, Bahamas, Physical Education) paced the offense with three shots (all on goal), while the quartet of Mariah Voight (Jr., La Mesa, Calif., Sociology/Psychology), Alexandra Benedict (Jr., Tustin, Calif., Sports Management), Graciela Belmontes (Sr., Salinas, Calif., Biology), and Lily Ocampo (So., Muscatine, Iowa, Biology) all recorded one shot each.
“This was a fantastic effort from our ladies today!” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “They showed great commitment against a team that went to the national semifinals last year. We played to our strengths and picked up another great road performance.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Indianola Tuesday to face Simpson in non-conference action at 7 p.m.
