WPU Claims Another Lopsided Win
Dubuque–The Statesmen men’s lacrosse team overcame a slow start to again top a league foe in a 19-4 victory over Clarke in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference action Monday.
William Penn (8-4, 4-3 KCAC), which tied its season high for consecutive wins with three, scored 16 of the game’s final 17 goals after being knotted at 3-3 early in the matchup.
The Pride (1-5, 1-5 KCAC) got on the board first at the 2:02 mark, but the visitors answered with three straight goals, beginning with Breck Putzier (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) doing it unassisted. Putzier then assisted on a score for Collin Baliva (So., St. Louis, Mo.), while Boston Romero (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) managed another goal sans help.
Clarke managed to get right back into the contest with back-to-back tallies, but Brady Treloar (So., Portland, Ore., Business Management) gave the Statesmen the advantage for good off a pass from Romero with 21 ticks remaining in the first quarter.
WPU dominated the second stanza with a six-pack of goals, beginning with Treloar pounding two more balls into the netting; Tim Pennington (So., Boise, Idaho, Biology) assisted on one. Christopher Lauderdale (So., Oakland, Calif.) then scored unassisted, while the trio of Pennington, Baliva, and Carter Lucas (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn., Mechanical Engineering) all beat the CU goalkeeper to make it 10-3 at halftime.
The third quarter was thoroughly dominated by Putzier as he scored four times and assisted on the fifth Statesmen goal (goal by Treloar). Dexter Tedesco (Fr., Helena, Mont.) joined the fun with an assist.
With the game in hand, William Penn wrapped it up with a 4-0 edge in the final 15 minutes. Romero did the work in the first three scores, with one assist going to Max Taylor (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.), while Chris Hollenbaugh (Fr., Saugus, Calif.) concluded the scoring off an assist from Nate Blasingame (Fr., Portland, Ore.).
The victors powered past Clarke with a 60-12 advantage in shots. Time of possession was easily held by the Statesmen as 23 of the 26 faceoffs were secured by them. WPU also committed just 16 turnovers, while forcing the Pride into 27 mistakes.
Led by his third period, Putzier finished with five scores and four helpers. Romero was also instrumental in the victory with four goals and two assists. Treloar (four goals, one assist), Baliva (two goals, one assist) and Pennington (one goal, two assists) all managed to be part of multiple scores as well.
Jeremy Smith (Sr., Camano Island, Wash., Sociology) topped the goalkeeping crew with five saves, while Eric Garigan (So., Tucson, Ariz., Political Science) added two more stops.
“Matching our regular-season win total from last year is a great milestone,” Head Coach Luke Christiansen said. “Even though we had a bit of a slow start, the team battled through and stuck to the game plan. Ultimately, it was a beautiful afternoon of lacrosse.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to host Midland in KCAC play at 3 p.m.
