Statesmen Hold Off Spartans in 19-15 Victory

Oskaloosa--The No. 10-ranked William Penn men's lacrosse team held off a persistent Missouri Baptist squad for a 19-15 win in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday night.

The Statesmen (8-3, 7-0 Heart) earned a narrow 51-46 edge in shots over the Spartans (4-7, 4-3 Heart) in a back-and-forth contest.

Missouri Baptist struck first, opening the scoring at the 10:37 mark of the first quarter. WPU answered with a goal from Breck Putzier (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Exercise Science), assisted by Garrett Katrana (Fr., Parker, Colo., Industrial Technology). After another Spartan goal gave them a brief lead, the Statesmen responded with back-to-back tallies from Putzier and Everett Breniser (Fr., Centennial, Colo., Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) to take a 3-2 advantage into the second quarter.

The Spartans again came out strong, netting two quick goals to reclaim the lead. WPU bounced back behind unassisted goals from Nate Levy (Fr., Lynnwood, Wash., Biology) and Breniser. Katrana followed with a man-down goal before Nate Blasingame (Sr., Portland, Ore., Business Management) capped the run with a man-up score, swinging momentum firmly in William Penn's favor.

Coming out of the break, the Statesmen wasted no time. Kenny Bohney (Jr., Moorhead, Minn., Exercise Science) connected with Katrana to open the third-quarter scoring. Missouri Baptist answered with two goals, but Max Standage (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz., Business Management) and Bohney helped push the lead back out. The Spartans trimmed the gap to 10-8, but WPU responded with a critical 4-0 surge thanks to goals from Bohney, Max Taylor (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Business Management), Bryce Campbell (Jr., Boise, Idaho), and Max Barr (So., West Des Moines, Iowa, Business Management), building a 14-9 lead heading into the final period.

Seth Read (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz., Psychology) opened the fourth quarter with a goal for WPU, but Missouri Baptist roared back with five straight goals to cut the game to a 15-14 WPU edge. Taylor stopped the bleeding with two clutch man-down goals, assisted by Standage and Bohney, before Putzier and Taylor each added insurance goals to secure the win.

Taylor led the Statesmen with a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance, while Putzier chipped in three goals. Katrana and Bohney each added two goals and three assists to fuel the offensive effort.

On the defensive side, WPU narrowly won the ground ball battle 32-26, with Campbell collecting seven, Standage five, and Putzier four.

Faceoffs proved challenging for the Statesmen, who won 18 of 35 overall. Campbell had the bulk of the success, going 11-for-17, while Kameron Brown (So., Woodinville, Wash., Business Management) contributed four wins on nine attempts.

Both teams struggled with ball control, with William Penn committing 12 turnovers to Missouri Baptist's 21. WPU was efficient on clears, converting 12 of 15 opportunities.

"We played a sloppy game tonight and allowed it to be more interesting than it needed to be," said Head Coach Luke Christiansen. "The great thing to take from tonight is this group has the grit and perseverance to make a postseason run."

Next Up: The Statesmen travel to Atchison, Kan., Saturday to face Benedictine at 1:00 p.m. in another Heart conference matchup.