William Penn Shuts Out Graceland in Heart Opener

Lamoni--The Statesmen women's soccer team earned its first win of the season, defeating Graceland 4-0 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference contest Wednesday.

William Penn (1-3, 1-0 Heart) had a plethora of shots, 21 to be exact, while limiting the Yellowjackets (1-3-1, 0-1 Heart) to just six attempts.

The navy and gold started off the game strong, as at the 4:12 mark defender Avery Garza (Fr., San Antonio, Texas, Undecided) found the back of the net. The goal is the first for Garza this fall. The Statesmen had a few more opportunities to find the back of the net early, but could not finish.

WPU finally got rolling again in the 38th minute when Mia Ammons (Fr., Black Diamond, Wash., Business Management) scored unassisted, putting William Penn up 2-0 at halftime.

The Statesmen kept the scoring train going when Taylor Witthauer (Jr., Vancouver, Wash., Nursing) finished off a pass from Ammons in the 70th minute. A few moments later, Ammons turned the lights out as she scored her second goal of the day, making it 4-0 with 20 minutes left in the second half.

Witthauer paced the team with nine shots, while Ammons was one of four players with two attempts.

Madeline Danielson (So., La Crescent, Minn., Exercise Science) managed four saves in the shutout.

"It was great to start conference off with a win," Head Coach Andy Commins said. "Tonight was the performance we have been working for up to this point. We will get back to work tomorrow and try to build on this win."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa this Saturday to host Baker in a Heart game at 5 p.m.