William Penn Falls Short in Season Finale to Pirates

Parkville, Mo.--The Statesmen women's soccer team scored first, but could not hold off a huge second half in a 5-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss to Park in its season finale Saturday.

WPU (4-11-1, 1-9-1 Heart), which was outshot 24-16, dominated the opening 45 minutes, but failed to hold off the Pirates (9-5-1, 6-5 Heart).

On a rainy afternoon that featured a weather delay, the visitors played even with PU until finally breaking through in the 40th minute.  Abi Moers (Sr., Evergreen, Colo., Psychology) played a long ball up the side to Lilly Cote (So., Sioux City, Iowa, Education) who dribbled it a few more yards before launching a long ball into the opposite corner for the day's first score at the 39:31 mark.  At halftime, the Statesmen led Park 1-0 courtesy of a 14-3 advantage in shots.

Unfortunately, the second stanza was a reversal of fortunes as WPU was outshot 20-3 by the Pirates.  Park knotted the contest in the 65th minute and then pulled away with three quick goals in a short span before tacking on a final goal in the 78th minute.

Taylor Witthauer (Sr., Vancouver, Wash., Nursing) paced the navy and gold with eight shots, while Georgia Murphy (Sr., Liverpool, England, Wellness and Recreation) added four attempts.

Madeline Danielson (Jr., La Crescent, Minn., Biology) recorded eight saves in the 2023 finale.

"I would like to thank the seniors for giving their heart and soul to this program," Head Coach Andy Commins said.