William Penn Upset By No. 10 Concordia in 16-12 Defeat

Ann Arbor, Mich.--The No. 7-ranked William Penn men's lacrosse team fought valiantly but suffered a 16-12 defeat to No. 10 Concordia Saturday, marking their second consecutive close loss.

Despite outshooting the Cardinals (3-3) 52-45, the Statesmen (3-3) struggled to capitalize on their opportunities, leading to a hard-fought but ultimately unsuccessful effort.

Concordia took control early, scoring the game's first goal at 11:06. However, William Penn quickly responded. Kenny Bohney (Jr., Moorhead, Minn., Exercise Science) opened the Statesmen's scoring with a goal assisted by Breck Putzier (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Exercise Science). The Cardinals then went on a three-goal run to seize the lead. William Penn managed to pull one back in the final minute of the first quarter, with Bohney assisting Max Taylor (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Business Management) on the goal to make it 4-2 at the end of the period.

In the second quarter, the Statesmen surged to tie the game. Putzier and Bohney each scored early to even the score, but Concordia answered with four unanswered goals, briefly pulling ahead. William Penn didn't back down, as Bohney struck again off an assist from Everett Breniser (Fr., Centennial, Colo., Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management), and Garrett Katrana (Fr., Parker, Colo., Industrial Technology) netted an unassisted goal to bring the score to 8-6 at halftime.

The Cardinals came out strong in the second half, scoring the first goal after the break. Katrana responded with a goal off a pass from Putzier, and Breniser found the back of the net with an assist from Katrana. However, Concordia quickly regained momentum, scoring four more goals, with Katrana netting another unassisted goal to keep the game within reach.

In the final quarter, both teams traded goals. Putzier opened the scoring with an assist from Nate Blasingame (Sr., Portland, Ore., Business Management), who then helped Katrana score his fourth goal of the game at 12:02. Concordia answered with two goals of their own, taking a 15-11 lead. Blasingame added a late goal off an assist from Putzier at 6:09, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals sealed the win with a final goal at the 4:56 mark.

Katrana led the Statesmen offense with four goals and one assist, shooting 8 times. Bohney followed with three goals and one assist. Putzier contributed two goals, three assists, and five total points, while Blasingame added one goal and three assists.

Defensively, William Penn struggled in key areas, including ground balls, where they were narrowly edged 34-32. Max Standage (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz., Business Management) led the way with nine ground balls. The Statesmen also had difficulty winning faceoffs, claiming just 15 out of 31, with Bryce Campbell (Jr., Boise, Idaho going 9-for-15 and Kameron Brown (So., Woodinville, Wash., Business Management) 4-for-9.

Turnovers were an issue for both teams, with William Penn committing 13 compared to Concordia's 14. On the clearing front, both teams performed well, with the Statesmen successfully clearing 16 of 19 attempts and Concordia completing 13 of 18.

"Another tough one. Playing back-to-back against ranked teams is tough and we've shown glimpses of being a final-four team," said Head Coach Luke Christiansen. "If we learn from these games and improve our consistency as a team we'll go far."

Next Up: William Penn will travel to Fremont, Neb., to take on Midland in Heart action next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.