Statesmen Fall to Benedictine

Atchison, Kan.–The William Penn women’s soccer team took on the Ravens of Benedictine Saturday in their second conference game of the year. The contest was moved up due to the threat of storms, but the rain still fell on the Statesmen by the end of 90 minutes. Down 1-0 after the first half, a few bad minutes saw the Ravens put in four goals and they never looked back. With the 7-0 loss, the navy and gold go to 4-4 overall and are now 0-2 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.

The Statesmen played a very close game in the first 45 minutes of play. Despite giving up eight shots, they kept the third best offense in the nation in check overall. Riley Ludwig (Sr., Big Bear City, Calif., Psychology) got the start and made two saves but had to come out after 25 minutes of action. The backline was strong, keeping play in front of them and staying organized while under pressure. However, the team could not get much working offensively, as they only got two shots in the first half, both from Isabella Pirami (So., South Jordan, Utah, Exercise Science). The Ravens scored in the 37th minute but that was all they could muster against a resolute WPU performance.

The second half was quite the turn-around as Benedictine pounded away. Four goals in four minutes gave them a lead they would not relinquish. The Statesmen worked on generating offense in the second half but only managed three shots. Kaitlin Falaney (Fr., Ottawa, Ill., Sports Management), Anna Matthew (So., Glendale Heights, Ill., Biology), and Mady Graham (Sr., Lehi, Utah, Political Science) each took one shot in the second frame. Adyson Blom (So., Newton, Iowa, Human Services) made nine saves in her relief role, playing 64 minutes.

“Tough loss for our ladies tonight,” said head coach Jaymee Highcock. “We played well in the first half and we thought we could carry that momentum into the second. However, after a ten-minute lapse in concentration, we conceded numerous goals and it was an uphill battle from then on. We will learn from this defeat and get ready to set the record straight against Grandview on Tuesday evening.”

Next Up: The Statesmen will stay on the road and head to Des Moines to play Grand View Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Posted by on Sep 22 2019. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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