William Penn Earns #5 Seed, to Open Invitational Against #4 Cumberlands
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s lacrosse team has learned its draw for the 8th Annual NAIA National Invitational next week.
The winner of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship, WPU (16-2) enters the Invitational as the #5 seed and will face #4 seed Cumberlands (Ky.) (13-4) in the quarterfinals of the eight-team event on Wednesday, May 8 at 11 a.m. (Central). The NAIA does not yet have enough programs sponsoring men’s lacrosse to reach Championship status.
The Invitational will be held from May 8-11 at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Ga.
This will be the third time WPU and UC have faced with the Patriots having won the previous two matchups, including an 18-7 decision in 2023.
Fans can watch the games (pay-per-view) at https://team1sports.com/naia/
Tickets can be purchased at https://tickets.scadboxoffice.com/overview/6235?queueittoken=e_scad~q_58e385eb-48d9-473f-ae34-0864c47dc5be~ts_1714393826~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_a21c4b638391f6d6ed2c2f2efd1a40c792bdf45223135baf1b77ba745ff75307
William Penn
Luke Christiansen, in his fifth year as the head coach of the Statesmen, owns a 51-23 record entering the Invitational. William Penn is making its first trip to the Invitational.
WPU, which had nine all-Heart honorees, is led by Heart Player of the Year Breck Putzier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Exercise Science) with 140 points (65 goals, 75 assists). Co-Heart Defensive Player of the Year Eric Garigan (Grad., Tucson, Ariz., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) leads the defense with a 6.09 Goals Against Average and 151 saves.
The Statesmen, who have thus far outscored their opponents 373-101, owned a 12-game winning streak at one point.
Cumberlands
Pete Campbell is in his ninth year at the helm of the Patriots, who are making their sixth appearance at the Invitational.
An at-large berth recipient out of the Appalachian Athletic Conference, UC had seven all-AAC performers. Offensively, the Patriots are led by Will Rogers with 78 points (50 goals, 28 assists), while AAC Defensive Player of the Year Michael Toohey has a 7.59 Goals Against Average with 168 saves.
Cumberlands, which won nine games in a row at one point, has outscored its opposition 220-111.
