WPU Shuts Out Spartans in Back-to-Back Quarters for Easy Win

St. Louis, Mo.--Complete domination of the middle two periods helped the William Penn men's lacrosse team to a 21-3 non-conference blowout win over Missouri Baptist Thursday.

Outshooting their hosts 63-25, the #6-ranked Statesmen (4-1) had little trouble keeping the Spartans (0-5) winless on the season.

Boston Romero (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) scored the night's first goal (unassisted) just 2:39 into the contest, but MBU answered seconds later to tie the score.

Collin Baliva (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Mechanical Engineering), also unassisted, and Eli Dillon (Sr., Portland, Ore., Business Management), off a pass from Romero, then put the visitors on top for good.

The Spartans pulled back within one goal a bit later in the first quarter, but the navy and gold had the final say in the opening period with an unassisted score by Wyatt Christensen (So., Madison, Wis., Biology) for a 4-2 edge.

Christensen's goal sparked an incredible run by William Penn, which spanned over 36 minutes of action and witnessed the Statesmen score 16 unanswered goals.  WPU put 10 second-quarter goals on the board in one of the most-lopsided periods in program history as it held a 22-3 edge in shots.

Six different WPU players found the netting in the second, paced by Breck Putzier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Exercise Science) who did so on four occasions.  The junior finished Thursday with six goals and two assists.

Up 14-2 at intermission, William Penn continued to pour it on with two goals by Max Taylor (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Business Management) that guided the visiting crew to a 5-0 advantage in the third quarter.  Taylor recorded three goals total.

MBU finally broke its scoreless stretch early in the fourth, while WPU closed out the victory with two more goals in the waning minutes.

Christensen ranked second in total points against the Spartans with one goal and four assists.  Romero and Nate Blasingame (So., Portland, Ore., Business Management) both produced two goals with one helper, while Jeff Kohl (So., Gilbert, Ariz., Business Management) had one goal and two assists.

The duo of Dillon and Seth Read (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz., Psychology) each contributed two goals in Thursday's triumph, while Baliva had one goal and one assist in addition to eight ground balls.

WPU crushed the Spartans in every meaningful category, including ground balls (36-23), while also winning 21 of the 26 total faceoffs.  Ryan Swarts (Sr., Boise, Idaho, Industrial Technology) claimed 15 of his 19 faceoff tries.

The visitors also did not falter in ball control with just 16 turnovers, while Peter Hebenstreit (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Nursing) caused three of Missouri Baptist's 26 turnovers.  Led by the senior, the Statesmen defense was incredible when down a person as MBU failed on all eight of its man-up opportunities.

Speaking of the highly-regarded William Penn defense, the Spartans were also just 13-for-25 in clears.  Conversely, WPU cleared the ball out of its defensive end on 18 of its 19 attempts.

Next Up: William Penn remains in St. Louis, Mo. Friday to face Taylor (Ind.) in a neutral-site contest at 6 p.m.