Slow Start Dooms William Penn in Loss to Braves

Ottawa, Kan.--The William Penn men's lacrosse team was not able to complete the comeback as it fell to Ottawa 16-13 in non-conference play Wednesday.

In a bout featuring two programs receiving votes nationally, WPU (5-4) outshot the Braves (2-0) 58-43, but could not make up for a 13-for-31 showing in faceoffs and a 49-34 deficit in ground balls.  The visitors, who trailed by as many as 10, closed to within three, but ran out of time.

Winning nearly all of the early faceoffs, Ottawa dominated the opening minutes, pulling out to a 6-0 lead.  Brady Treloar (Jr., Portland, Ore., Business Management) finally stopped the hemorrhaging as he found the net at the 5:07 mark off a helper from Jeff Kohl (Fr., Gilbert, Ariz., Business Management).  Two minutes later, Breck Putzier (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Kinesiology) followed up with an unassisted goal to cut into the deficit.  The Braves responded back, though, with a goal at the end of the period to go up 7-2.

Just as they did in the first quarter, the Braves controlled the first few minutes of the second with four straight goals to get out to an 11-2 advantage. The navy and gold eventually responded with a score from Kohl via Putzier, but unfortunately, Ottawa quickly matched that with two goals of its own to claim a 13-3 edge.

The Statesmen closed out the half with momentum, though, as Putzier (assist from Kohl) and Wyatt Christensen (Fr., Madison, Wis., Biology) (unassisted) cut the deficit to 13-5 at the break.

A different Statesmen squad came out of the locker room.  Boston Romero (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) scored his only goal of the day off a pass from Christensen just 2:36 into the third stanza.

The Braves countered, but the remainder of the period belonged to WPU as it recorded four in a row.  Christensen opened the stretch with help from Putzier, while Putzier was next, doing the work alone.  Kenny Bohney (Fr., Moorhead, Minn.), from Nate Blasingame (So., Portland, Ore., Business Management), beat the OU goalie at the 3:25 mark, and Blasingame (assist to Putzier) closed out the successful quarter with just nine ticks left.

Christensen continued William Penn's rally with an unassisted goal with 12:24 to go in regulation, but Ottawa shifted the momentum back its way with back-to-back tallies to again lead by five at 16-11. William Penn fought to the end, as Blasingame (from Putzier) scored just 24 seconds later.  The Statesmen unfortunately cooled off in the waning minutes as Christensen put a final shot into the netting with only 10 seconds on the clock.

Putzier led the WPU offense with three goals and four assists, while Christiansen managed four goals and a helper.  Kohl (one goal, two assists) and Blasingame (two goals, one assist) were both part of three scores as well.

Ryan Swarts (Jr., Boise, Idaho, Industrial Technology) finished 11-for-23 in the faceoff circle, while Eric Garigan (Jr., Tucson, Ariz., Political Science) tallied 14 saves in the loss.

William Penn won the turnover battle, forcing 13 while only committing nine.

"We dug ourselves into too big of a hole with lack of possessions and defensive stops early in the game." Head Coach Luke Christiansen said. "Once we get over these slow starts and put together some full performances, this team can be special. A very disappointing loss but the way we battled back is a great sign of mental toughness that we can use as we continue to build."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to face Madonna (Mich.) in non-conference play at 2 p.m.