WPU Torches Vikings 14-7

Oskaloosa — After the upset of #9 Ottawa, William Penn men’s lacrosse had to keep their good form and avoid an upset by Missouri Valley at home. While the Vikings had a hot phase in the first and third quarters, the Statesmen outclassed MVC for the rest of the game. Taking the victory 14-7, the navy and gold improve to 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Vikings entered 2-5 in both of their records, as they came to Oskaloosa fresh from a 18-0 drubbing of Morningside. They won the opening draw and got the first shot but it missed the cage. The Statesmen finally got a clear with 12:42 left in the period and set up shop for the first time. Working the perimeter, the ball arrived to Ryan Epps (Fr., Portland, Ore., Mechanical Engineering), who delivered a laser into the net to open the scoring.

Boston Romero (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business) then racked up a couple shots as WPU hemmed the Vikings in their defensive zone. After breaking out, neither side established possession, as plenty of ground balls were picked up and then lost. Eli Dillon (Fr., Portland, Ore.) got a chance and fired a clean shot in at goal but the goalie for Missouri Valley made the save.

The Vikings then struck to level the score, as they beat starting goalie Eric Garigan (Fr., Tucson, Ariz., Political Science) on a good transition goal. The Arizona native made a quality save on a shot right after that, but the Vikings then scored twice in 50 seconds to take a 3-1 lead with 5:09 to go in the first quarter.

William Penn called a timeout to refocus and get back on the game plan, which was all the team needed to reassert themselves in the contest. Romero took a pass from Max Standage (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz., Business Management) and launched a screaming shot into the net to make it 3-2 just 28 seconds later. Just shy of a minute after that, Collin Baliva (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) took some time to line up a shot and blasted in his first goal of the game to even the score at 3-3. It then took just 20 more seconds for Ryan Swarts (Fr., Boise, Idaho, Industrial Technology) to win the faceoff and roll it to Romero. He then picked out a wide-open Brady Treloar (Fr., Portland, Ore., Business Management), who had a free run at the net from the near side. Sliding in another score over the shoulder of the goalie, Treloar put WPU ahead 5-3. Carter Lucas (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn., Mechanical Engineering) then capped off the quarter with a long-distance goal with 1:06 on the board, making it five-unanswered by the navy and gold.

Taking a 6-3 lead into the second frame, the Statesmen then scored the first goal of the period as Treloar set up Lucas, who again cashed-in from downtown to make it 7-3 William Penn. The team pressed the Vikings, creating a few more chances that missed the net or were saved. Garigan got busy again with under three minutes to go, making two fantastic saves in quick succession to keep shutout in the quarter going Romero then scored after a successful clear to make it 8-3 Statesmen, as the squad went end-to-end in under 20 seconds.

Taking an 8-3 advantage into halftime, William Penn enjoyed a 21-13 lead in shots, a 6-4 edge in faceoffs, and had seven clears in nine attempts. Garigan made five saves in the first half and the team in front of him picked up 12 ground balls, while MVC collected only five.

The Statesmen kept the good times rolling to start the second half, with goals for Baliva and Romero 31 seconds apart. The Vikings put up a goal to make the score 10-4 but it would be answered by Dillon with 6:16 to go in the quarter. Missouri Valley then notched two goals to close out the frame, bringing the score to 11-6.

Despite that run, William Penn only gave up one shot in the fourth quarter and took 19 themselves to seal the victory. Baliva nailed his third goal with 13:39 remaining on an assist from Romero. Romero then put in his fourth of the game with 7:21 to go, as the team went from one end to the other over three passes. The Vikings scored six seconds later but Tim Pennington (Fr., Boise, Idaho, Biology) delivered the rebuttal, as he got a great pass from Baliva, putting the last score on the board in the 14-7 decision.

William Penn outshot MVC 46-21 for the game. The Statesmen picked up 30 ground balls compared to the Vikings, who could only find 18. Meanwhile, the navy and gold won the turnover battle 16-29 and made 23 clears in 26 attempts. Romero led the way with four goals, 14 shots, and nine shots on goal. Baliva had three goals, eight shots, and five shots on target. Treloar paced the team with four assists while Garigan made six saves. Swarts was 9-20 in the faceoff circle, while Joshua Bell (Fr., Castle Rock, Colo.) was 2-3.

“Every game is an opportunity for us to move closer towards our goal of being a top-tier team,” said Head Coach Luke Christiansen. “Tonight we saw some glimpses of that potential and picked up a great conference win.”

Next Up: Another home match is up next, as the team will welcome Saint Mary (Kan.) to Statesmen Community Stadium. The game will start on Saturday, April 3, at 3 p.m.

Posted by on Apr 1 2021. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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