WPU Pounds Northwestern (Minn.) in Final Test Before Heart Slate Begins
Saint Paul, Minn.–The William Penn men’s lacrosse team dominated from the start Saturday, taking down Northwestern (Minn.) 19-3 in non-conference action.
#4 William Penn (9-1) posted a 56-23 edge in shots and turned the Eagles over 29 times (13 for WPU). The win is the program’s seventh in a row, tying the school record set back in 2022.
Max Taylor (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Business Management) put the visitors on top just 1:51 into the afternoon, scoring off a pass from Breck Putzier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Exercise Science).
Northwestern answered just 13 seconds later, but in what has become commonplace, the Statesmen went on a massive run of unanswered goals, scoring 14 in a row to put the game out of reach.
William Penn scored six straight in the first quarter and then had a perfect 6-0 second period before tacking on two more goals to open the third stanza.
During the stretch, Wyatt Christensen (So., Madison, Wis., Biology) and Boston Romero (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) both managed three goals, while Seth Read (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz., Psychology) contributed two tallies. Putzier assisted on four of the goals, while Christiansen was good for three helpers.
The hosts snapped the streak with back-to-back goals, trimming the deficit to 12 at 15-3 entering the fourth quarter. It was far too little, though, as the navy and gold, guided by two goals and an assist from Putzier, posted another spotless period by outscoring Northwestern 4-0 in the last period.
Putzier closed out the victory with nine points on three goals and six assists, while Christiansen was right behind him with eight points (four goals, four assists).
Romero, with three goals and an assist, Taylor, with three goals, and Read, with two scores, also accounted for multiple goals.
WPU was excellent in clears at 28-for-29 (Northwestern was 15-for-22), making up for a tough day in the faceoff circle (7-for-24).
Taylor, Christiansen, and Kenny Bohney (So., Moorhead, Minn., Exercise Science) all collected five groundballs, while as a team, William Penn held a 39-26 advantage in that category.
Defensively, Collin Baliva (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Mechanical Engineering) paced the crew with three caused turnovers, and Eric Garigan (Grad., Tucson, Ariz., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) saved six shots.
“I liked the well-roundedness of this win,” Head Coach Luke Christiansen said. “I cannot wait to get to conference play this week.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Thursday to host Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener at 4 p.m.
