FULTON, Mo. - Entering the nitty-gritty part of the campaign with just over a week until the conference tournament, William Woods University (3-7, 3-4 Heart of America Athletic Conference) played some of its best lacrosse in its dominant all-around 20-2 rout over Midland University (2-9, 2-5) Wednesday at North Campus Athletic Complex.
"This was a good team win tonight," William Woods lacrosse coach
Seth Matlock said. "Wins in the Heart don't come easy, and tonight we were able to do something we have not done all year and play 60 minutes, for a team win. Defense stood out and played very well together, and offense was able to find their 'mojo'. We stuck to our game plan and were able to work together, which is what we need to be doing as we end the regular season. Vinny had another great game on offense and set some personal records for his career. Very proud of him, the team, and the support staff for trusting the process. Go Owls!"
Guiding The Woods' offensive effort,
Vinny DeMarco potted a game-high eight goals and two assists for a game-high 10 points while tallying a game-high 20 shots (12 on goal), forcing five turnovers and scooping two ground balls,
Ethan NewMyer had four goals and two assists and
Jack Brackin recorded a game-high three assists and added two goals.
Defensively, Owls' long stick midfielder
Chris Hanson had a tremendous night with 10 ground balls and six caused turnovers, and goalie
Drew Stubblefield made three saves in five attempts and earned his third win on the season.
In the first period, William Woods scored five goals.
Xavier Dockery opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the campaign from a DeMarco assist with 13:39 left, then he turned provider on
David Wiley's 15th goal of the season just over a minute later. NewMyer's unassisted goal gave WWU a 3-0 advantage with 6:30 to go. DeMarco made it 4-0 with 4:02 left, slotting his shot into the net from Brackin's helper. NewMyer finished his two-goal first quarter, unassisted, with 33 seconds remaining.
The Owls tacked on two more goals to their advantage in the second period, with DeMarco bagging both unassisted, the first with 10:44 left and the second with 5:55 remaining.
Putting up a period-high seven goals, William Woods doubled its advantage to 14-0 in the third period. Wiley began the second half offense, finding the back of the net unassisted, his 16th goal this year, with 13:49 left. DeMarco got on the scoresheet next, taking a Brackin pass for his goal with 9:46 remaining. Following that, NewMyer scored from Wiley's assist with 7:21 to go,
Sam Snyder from Dockery's helper with 3:55 left, DeMarco off NewMyer's assist with 3:02 remaining, Brackin unassisted with 2:00 on the clock and Brackin assisted DeMarco's goal with 13 seconds left.
Midland avoided the shutout, scoring with just five seconds remaining in the third period.
Within the first eight minutes of the fourth period, the Owls elevated their lead to 17-1: DeMarco scored the first two, the first unassisted with 13:37 left and second provided by NewMyer that finished his eight-goal game - DeMarco's 41st goal of the year - with 7:49 remaining and Snyder found the net unassisted for his 13th goal this season with 7:20 to go.
After the Warriors tallied their final goal, William Woods tacked on its final three goals in the last 4:47:
Emmet Mathis unassisted, his fourth score of the season, Brackin, his 15th goal this year, unassisted with 4:13 left and NewMyer, his 20th of the season from DeMarco with 1:26 remaining.
For the game, William Woods totaled 58 shots (36 on goal), 49 ground balls, 18 turnovers and 13 faceoff wins. Midland had 15 shots (five on goal), 20 ground balls, 33 turnovers and 13 faceoff wins.
The Owls play the final home game of their inaugural campaign, hosting Clarke University (5-6, 3-3 Heart) on Senior Day at 1 p.m. Saturday.
