ATCHISON, Kan. - Taking on one of the Heart of America Athletic Conference's best teams for the second time in as many games, William Woods University (1-7, 1-4 Heart) scored in every quarter of its 14-6 loss to (RV) Benedictine College (5-5, 4-1) on what was the Ravens' "Red, White & Blue Day" Wednesday at Legacy Field.
"We were able to put together a good game plan for tonight's matchup. However, we must execute better on the field," William Woods lacrosse coach
Seth Matlock said. "Offensively, we had some great looks but need to do a better job finishing. Vinny had a good game with six points (three goals and three assists).
Drew Stubblefield had a great game with another double-digit save day. Defensively, we were not outmatched but had a tough time stopping the ball in transition, which led to a few quick goals for the other team. Again, it's tough to stay competitive with 30 turnovers in a game. Must clean that up, value the ball better and trust the process. Go Owls!"
Putting in an offensive masterclass for the Owls,
Vinny DeMarco tallied a hat-trick of goals and assists to give him a team-high six points, and he also had a game-high 12 shots (six on goal).
The Woods attacker/midfielder
David Wiley filled up the statsheet, notching a game-high 11 ground balls and 12-of-14 faceoff wins while adding one goal, one assist and three shots (one on goal). Owls goalie
Drew Stubblefield made 14 saves with a .500 save percentage - the same percentage as his adversary but with two more stops.
Just 43 seconds into the game, William Woods opened the scoring with DeMarco slotting his shot past Benedictine's netminder off a
Jack Brackin assist. Following that, the Ravens recorded seven unanswered goals, the last with 5:56 left until halftime.
Ethan NewMyer put the Owls back on the scoreboard, netting his shot provided by DeMarco with 3:04 remaining in the first half. Benedictine brought its lead back to six goals, holding an 8-2 advantage at the break.
In the third period, William Woods was the only team that scored. Registering the Owls' first score of the third, Wiley potted the Owls' first-ever goal with a man down, from DeMarco's helper with 3:46 to go in the period. Then, with 28 seconds left in the third, DeMarco turned scorer, taking a Wiley assist to cut WWU's deficit to 8-4.
Sam Snyder narrowed the Owls' deficit to their smallest of the second half at 8-5 after he scored from DeMarco's third and final assist with 13:50 left in the game. DeMarco finished his three-goal display and Woods' scoring, when he received a
Xavier Dockery pass and placed it past the Ravens' goalie with 10:57 remaining, which made it 10-6 Benedictine. The Ravens recorded the contest's final four goals to take the matchup by eight.
For the game, William Woods had 41 shots (18 on goal), 41 ground balls, 30 turnovers and 17 faceoff wins, while Benedictine posted 55 shots (28 on goal), 34 ground balls, 18 turnovers and seven faceoff wins.
The Owls conclude their road trip this week by facing Missouri Valley College (0-5, 0-5 Heart) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Gregg-Mitchell Field in Marshall.
