Women's Lacrosse Falls at Home to William Penn

Marshall, Mo., (April 10, 2024)-  The Missouri Valley College men's and women's lacrosse teams hosted William Penn (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The women's team cut down a halftime deficit, but eventually fell by a final score of 15-8.  The men's team dropped its game to the No. 5 Statesmen.

The women's game opened with the two teams trading chances on goal in the first few minutes.  Junior Goalkeeper Melissa Sandoval (Weiser, Idaho) made her first save of the game with nearly two minutes played, while Senior Defender Tyra McKenzie (Nassau, Bahamas) put the first shot on goal for Missouri Valley moments later, as her shot was saved.  William Penn came through with the next chance, four minutes into the contest, and scored to move ahead, 1-0.  Sandoval came up with two more saves over the next stretch, as the teams traded possession.  Missouri Valley eventually held possession in the WPU side of the field, and Freshman Defender Miranda Wilson (Idaho Falls, Idaho) scored with less than seven minutes to play in the quarter to tie the teams at 1-1.  William Penn won the ensuing faceoff, and scored moments later to reclaim the lead, 2-1.  The Vikings answered quickly, as Freshman Midfielder Hailey Davis (Maryville, Tenn.) won the faceoff and scored to bring the teams into a 2-2 score.  Three minutes later, WPU went back in front with a goal, then tacked on a free-position goal in the final minute to lead, 4-2, going into the second quarter.

Play in the second quarter started with two early goals from William Penn to make it a 6-2 score with less than three minutes played.  The two teams traded possession over the next stretch, as Sandoval made two more saves.  Midway through the quarter, WPU tacked on another goal to hold a 7-2 advantage.  Missouri Valley got that goal back just over one minute later, as Freshman Defender Dulce Martinez (Edinberg, Texas) scored to shorten the gap down to 7-3.  Both teams held possession over the final minutes of the half, but WPU added one more goal in the closing moments to sit with an 8-3 advantage at halftime.

The third quarter featured an early goal scored by Missouri Valley, as the team took advantage of a William Penn penalty on another Wilson goal to put the deficit at 8-4 with one minute off the clock.  William Penn responded with two quick goals through the 10-minute mark to stay on top, 10-4.  The Vikings held the better of possession through the midway point of the quarter, and added a Davis free-position goal to make it a 10-5 score.  Davis tallied another free-position goal just past the six-minute mark, as MVC took advantage of an extra-player advantage.  Another free-position chance for Davis came near the two-minute mark, but her shot hit off the post.  Wilson came up with the ground ball, and Davis added another free-position goal to put the score at 10-7 going into the fourth quarter.

The two teams traded chances at the start of the fourth quarter, as Freshman Attack Rose Szymanski (Southampton, England) and Davis each has shots saved, while Sandoval made a pair of saves in the opening six minutes.  William Penn put the game out of reach with three-straight goals scored over a little more than two-minute stretch of play to hold a 13-7 advantage.  Szymanski scored one late free-position goal for the Vikings, but the team fell by a final score of 15-8.

Davis led with four goals, while Wilson added two goals.  Martinez finished with one goal and one assist, and Szymanksi scored one goal.  Sandoval made seven saves in goal, while Wilson led with four ground balls.  Missouri Valley forced 24 turnovers in the game, and held an 18-17 edge in ground balls.

Missouri Valley falls to 2-6 on the season and 1-3 in the Heart.  William Penn improves to 2-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

Up next, the two teams will finish their regular seasons with home games this weekend.  The women's team will host Culver-Stockton (Mo.) in a Heart contest, Saturday at 4 p.m.  The men's team will host Midland (Neb.) in a non-conference game, Sunday at 1 p.m.  Both games inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.

Box Score-Click Here 

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Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.