Three Goals Apiece by Romero, Pennington, but Statesmen Slide Continues
Davenport–In need of a big win to change the proverbial tide, the William Penn men’s lacrosse team unfortunately did not get it Wednesday as it fell 14-7 to #3 St. Ambrose in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference action.
WPU (3-3, 0-2 KCAC) was aggressive throughout, outshooting the Fighting Bees 42-38, but could not get enough of those attempts into the netting as it lost for the third game in a row.
The visitors got on the board first with an unassisted goal by Boston Romero (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) just 2:59 into the evening. SAU (3-0, 1-0 KCAC) answered, however, with four straight, including three to close out the opening quarter with a 3-1 advantage.
Trailing 4-1 midway through the second period, Tim Pennington (So., Boise, Idaho, Biology) took a pass from Brady Treloar (So., Portland, Ore., Business Management) and deposited it behind the goalkeeper. Less than two minutes later, Romero again went alone to cut the deficit to one.
The hosts recaptured the momentum in the waning minutes of the half, though, scoring twice, while Pennington kept it at a two-goal margin at 6-4 with his second score of the game (unassisted).
St. Ambrose produced a statement goal right out of intermission, scoring in just seven seconds. It was part of a 5-1 advantage for the Fighting Bees in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Breck Putzier (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.), with help from Nate Blasingame (Fr., Portland, Ore.), got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, while Romero concluded WPU’s scoring with his third unassisted effort. Putzier wore the unlucky hat Wednesday with a team-best 13 shots, including nine on goal, but just one goal to show for it all.
Jeremy Smith (Sr., Camano Island, Wash., Sociology) posted 15 saves in the loss.
The Statesmen claimed 10 of the 24 faceoffs, while committing five fewer turnovers (19-24) than SAU Wednesday.
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Monday to host #9 Concordia (Mich.) in non-conference action at 4 p.m.
