Numerous Players Score as Statesmen Clinch Playoff Berth

Marshall, Mo.--Eight members of the William Penn women's lacrosse team scored as the Statesmen defeated Missouri Valley 15-8 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Wednesday.

WPU (2-7, 2-3 Heart) narrowly outshot the Vikings 31-27, but was much more efficient with its chances.

The victory clinches a berth for WPU in the Heart Championship with the semifinal round being held next Wednesday.  William Penn's opponent is yet to be determined, but the Statesmen will be on the road for the semifinals.

The visitors scored the day's initial goal as Morgan O'Connell (Fr., West Des Moines, Iowa, Sports Management) beat the Missouri Valley goalkeeper at the 11:06 mark of the opening quarter.  Ashlyn Hoffman (Sr. Bend, Ore., Nursing) assisted on the score.

The Vikings responded four minutes later, but Hoffman pushed the Statesmen back on top soon thereafter as she scored with an assist from Emily Ferguson (Sr., Waterloo, N.Y., Exercise Science).

The home squad again tied the contest, only to see WPU recapture the edge for good with back-to-back goals in the final three minutes of the first stanza from Kenzington Winget (Sr., West Jordan, Utah., Political Science) (unassisted) and Ferguson (free position shot).  The Statesmen scored four of their goals on free position attempts.

Three additional unanswered goals were recorded by William Penn to open the second period with all three coming via the free position arch.  Ferguson started the run, while Krimzon Cleveland (Jr., Fond du Lac, Wis., Exercise Science) and Hoffman followed.

The Vikings trimmed the margin to four, but Raylee Halbrooks (Sr., Elgin, Okla., English), off a delivery from Winget, fired a shot home in the final minute as the visitors entered halftime with an 8-3 advantage.

WPU's third quarter was unfortunately less than stellar with MVC closing the gap by outscoring the navy and gold 4-2.  Ferguson was helped by Victoria Negron (Sr., Miami, Florida, Exercise Science) and Kiara Baxter (So., Ankeny, Iowa, Software Engineering) received an assist from Halbrooks, but William Penn entered the fourth only up 10-7.

Neither team was able to locate the back of the net through the first six minutes of the final quarter, but once they did, the Statesmen fortunately quickly put the game out of reach as Ferguson scored three straight over the span of 2:20 on the clock.  The senior guided the victors with six goals in addition to five draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover.

Four minutes later, Hoffman (from Ferguson) also scored, while the sides shared the final two goals as Negron entered the scoring column via a ball from Winget.

In addition to Ferguson's big day, Hoffman also scored three times with one assist, while Winget had one goal with three helpers.

The navy and gold came away victorious despite having deficits in draw controls (13-10) and ground balls (18-17). WPU and MVC (2-6, 1-3 Heart) both committed 24 turnovers.

Hoffman matched Ferguson with five draw controls, while Halbrooks and Catrina Dinehart (Grad., Palmyra, N.Y., Master's of Sports Management) each tallied three ground balls.  Dinehart headed the navy and gold with eight saves as well.

Halbrooks was a pest on defense with four caused turnovers, while Winget tacked on three more.

Both teams had issues clearing the ball out of their defensive ends with WPU finishing 16-for-28 and MVC going 13-for-18.

"All I have is pride in my team and how they played," Head Coach Joshua Bell said.  "The ladies really pulled together, locked in, and secured the victory on the road.  There were so many players who scored their first goal of the year, but the defense cannot go unrecognized for holding Missouri Valley down.  I asked our players to give 150% and they did not disappoint."