William Penn Powers into Heart Championship After 20-6 Semifinal Battle

Oskaloosa--The No. 10 William Penn men's lacrosse team dominated Benedictine 20-6 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Semifinal Wednesday night, punching their ticket to the conference title game.

The top-seeded Statesmen (11-3) will face No. 2 seed St. Ambrose on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Heart Championship at Statesmen Community Stadium. The matchup is a rematch of their April showdown, when William Penn clinched the Heart Regular Season title with a 15-10 win over the Fighting Bees.

The contest started slowly, with both teams trading punches in the opening frame. Breck Putzier (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Exercise Science) netted two first-quarter goals, one assisted by Nate Blasingame (Sr., Portland, Ore., Business Management), to keep pace with Benedictine's (8-8) two scores.

The Statesmen offense erupted in the second quarter, sparked by a goal from Garrett Katrana (Fr., Parker, Colo., Industrial Technology). Blasingame followed with a pair of goals, with Daniel McQuade (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Political Science) also finding the back of the net. After a brief Benedictine answer, William Penn reeled off another scoring spree. Max Taylor (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Business Management), Everett Breniser (Fr., Centennial, Colo., Entrepreneurship), and Kenny Bohney (Jr., Moorhead, Minn., Exercise Science) all contributed to a dominant run that gave the Statesmen a 10-4 halftime advantage.

The third quarter was more of the same. William Penn opened with four unanswered goals—two more from Blasingame, and one each from Breniser and McQuade. Benedictine added one, but Putzier and Bohney kept the pressure on, stretching the lead to 16-5.

The final period was just a formality. Breniser struck again before the Ravens tallied their final goal. The Statesmen closed strong, scoring three more—Breniser from Bohney, Putzier from Bohney, and a final goal from Katrana.

Blasingame led the charge with five goals and an assist. Putzier and Breniser each tallied four goals and an assist. McQuade, Bohney, and Katrana added two apiece. Bohney also dished out a game-high three assists.

The Statesmen dominated every statistical category, outshooting Benedictine 61-28. Bohney led with 12 shots, while Putzier and Breniser added 11 each.

On the ground, William Penn held a 46-31 advantage in ground balls. Max Standage (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz., Business Management) scooped up 16, and Bryce Campbell (Jr., Boise, Idaho) added nine. Campbell was outstanding at the X, winning 14 of 17 faceoffs, while Kameron Brown (So., Woodinville, Wash., Business Management) went 8-for-11.

WPU also excelled in transition, converting 24-of-25 clear attempts, while the Ravens struggled at just 24-for-36.

"I'm proud of the guys for the effort tonight," said Head Coach Luke Christiansen. "Now it's time to build off this win and finish the job in the Heart Championship."

Up Next: William Penn will host St. Ambrose in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Saturday at 6 p.m. at Statesmen Community Stadium.