Statesmen Rally Past Eagles to Stay Perfect

Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s lacrosse team remained undefeated with an inspiring 16-15 come-from-behind overtime victory over non-conference foe Northwestern (Minn.) Thursday.

WPU (4-0), off to its best start in school history, scored seven goals in the final period and then finished off the comeback 46 seconds into overtime on a free position goal from Bailee Royal (Sr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management).

Despite being outshot 37-24 and trailing by as many as four goals on numerous occasions, the navy and gold never surrendered. Instead, William Penn scored seven of the final nine goals to once again ring the Victory Bell.

Starting slow, WPU permitted the Eagles (0-1) to jump out to a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the contest. Royal, who finished with four goals and three assists, was then fouled on an offensive move and slotted in a free position shot at the 5:15 mark. Northwestern, however, scored just outside of the final minute of play to lead 4-1 entering the second stanza.

The sides were even in the second with each tallying four scores. Emily Ferguson (Jr., Waterloo, N.Y., Exercise Science) led the way with two goals, with Royal and Petersen helping on one apiece. Royal and MacKenzie Petersen (Sr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting) managed the other two tallies to keep it at a three-goal margin (8-5) at the halfway point.

Ferguson, off a pass from Royal, trimmed the deficit to two just 1:37 into the third quarter, but UNW scored back-to-back goals for its largest advantage of the night. Ferguson closed the gap again (Petersen assisted), only to see the Eagles answer 50 seconds later. Fortunately, Petersen beat the clock, hitting the netting with three seconds remaining in the quarter to make it 11-8 with 15 minutes left in the matchup.

Petersen then scored an early goal in the fourth, but it was sandwiched between a pair of Eagle tallies as the Statesmen yet again trailed by four, now with 12 minutes left.

That is when the hosts finally made their push. Although they did not win many draw controls during the stretch (WPU was actually strong, winning 20 of the 33 total draw controls), the Statesmen found success on the defensive end, leading to scores on the other end.

Three consecutive goals, including the first from Jenna Donlan (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Business Management), got William Penn within one. Northwestern momentarily stopped the hemorrhaging with a goal at the 4:42 mark to make it 14-12. The Statesmen, however, dominated the next three minutes with aggressive offense that led to numerous free position chances. Donlan cashed in twice to tie the game and Ferguson scored to give WPU its first lead at 15-14 with 1:51 remaining.

The home crew needed one final stop, but could not get it as the Eagles forced overtime by tallying the game-tying goal with just 17 ticks left.

In its first extra session of the year, William Penn earned possession off an Eagles’ draw control violation. Seconds later, Royal was fouled in front of the cage. She took advantage of the free position opportunity and sliced between two defenders and fired a low shot past the UNW goalkeeper for the golden-goal score. Overall, the Statesmen were excellent in free position chances, going 7-for-10.

Ferguson guided the offense with five goals, while Petersen matched Royal with four scores; Petersen also assisted twice. Donlan added three goals as well.

Ashlyn Hoffman (Jr., Bend, Ore., Nursing) won six draw controls, while Ferguson picked up six herself.

Madison Reed (Sr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) recorded 17 saves and a team-high four ground balls in the win.

The Statesmen overcame several deficiencies, including losing the turnover battle 23-13, clearing just 10 of 16 tries, and managing only 15 ground balls (23 for UNW).

“That was such an exciting and electric game!” Head Coach Joshua Bell said. “The team faced several challenges, but they kept pushing forward. Every time our team steps on the field, they make me more and more proud.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Leavenworth, Kan. Saturday to face Saint Mary (Kan.) in non-conference action at 1 p.m.