Ten Score as WPU Rolls Past Saint Mary (Kan.)
Leavenworth, Kan.–A balanced attack led the Statesmen men’s lacrosse team to comfortable 18-1 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Saint Mary (Kan.) Tuesday.
William Penn (6-4, 2-3 KCAC) poured it on all evening with a 72-10 advantage in shots.
The visitors already had four shots under their belt before finally getting one past the Spire goalkeeper as Boston Romero (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) scored unassisted at the 11:23 mark of the first quarter.
Eight shots later, Romero again found the netting, courtesy of an assist from Seth Read (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.) in the eighth minute.
That opened the floodgates a bit with Breck Putzier (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) and Brady Treloar (So., Portland, Ore., Business Management) going unassisted and Tim Pennington (So., Boise, Idaho, Biology) scoring with help from Romero to make it 5-0 after one quarter of play.
The offense was even more productive in the second period. Putzier was unstoppable with three consecutive unassisted goals, while Ryan Swarts (So., Boise, Idaho, Industrial Technology) claimed a faceoff victory and then went the distance to score just three seconds after Putzier’s third goal of the quarter.
Nate Blasingame (Fr., Portland, Ore.) tacked on two goals without help, while defender Caeden Miller (So., Bear River, Utah, Digital Communication) got into the mix as well in the final minute before intermission.
Leading 12-1 at halftime, the Statesmen continued to press on the accelerator with five more third-period goals; all were unassisted. Max Taylor (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) put two past the keeper, while Romero added another to his tally. Ryan Epps (So., Portland, Ore., Mechanical Engineering) and Eli Dillon (So., Portland, Ore.) also got on the scoreboard in the third.
Taylor concluded the day’s scoring with one final unassisted goal with 12:43 left in regulation. At game’s end, Putzier led the navy and gold with four goals, while Romero was also part of four tallies (three goals, one assist). Taylor scored three times off the bench.
In addition to its domination in the shots category, William Penn also won 18 of the 22 faceoffs, recorded a 47-20 edge in ground balls, and committed only 12 turnovers (28 for USM).
On a quiet day in front of the cage, Eric Garigan (So., Tucson, Ariz., Political Science) tallied one save in the win.
“It was great to see everyone on the roster get on the field and execute the game plan,” Head Coach Luke Christiansen said. “When the younger guys came on, they performed well and kept the momentum going. Developing that depth is a good step forward.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Marshall, Mo. Wednesday to face Missouri Valley in KCAC play at 5 p.m.
