OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The Missouri Baptist women's lacrosse team picked up its second straight win on the road and opened Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play on Saturday with a 16-10 victory at William Penn University. While MBU's attack, which is averaging 17 goals per game in the last two outings, grabs the attention in a high-scoring affair, it was the Spartan defense that quietly sealed the deal in Saturday's win. MBU held the Statesmen to just three goals in the second half to drop WPU to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the KCAC.
Despite the Spartans scoring two quick goals out of the gate, neither team was able to establish any sort of rhythm in the first 30 minutes of the game. MoBap led by as much as two in the first half before William Penn knotted the game at 3-all. The see-saw action continued to the end of the period. The Statesmen had grabbed the lead twice, but Missouri Baptist entered halftime holding a slim 8-7 advantage. The momentum shifted in MBU's direction when Melina Custer punched in a man-up goal with 45 seconds left on the clock.
Custer was one of six different Spartans to score in the opening period. Upperclassmen Jordan Haeusser and Ashley Avery led the charge with 2 goals apiece.
Riding the momentum from Custer's late goal, Missouri Baptist exploded for eight straight goals to start the second half. Of the eight consecutive goals, Jordan Haeusser and ChaylebDeves accounted for the first six out of the break. Sophomore Kamryn Bell, who scored once in the first half, added two more at the end of the 8-0 run to record her second hat trick in as many tries.
The Spartans were equally impressive on defense forcing five WPU turnover and limiting the Statesmen to four shots in a 20-minute span. William Penn ended the stretch of 26 and ½ minutes without a score on a Hallie Clark goal (7:43). The home team cut into MBU's lead with two more in the final four minutes, but it was too little too late for the Statesmen.
The formidable duo of Jordan Haeusser (5) and ChaylebDeves (4) combined for 9 goals on Saturday and is now tied for the team lead in goals with 12 on the year. The two were also credited with 4 assists, 8 ground balls, and 10 draw controls. Not far behind Haeusser and Deves in total goals for 2021 is Kamryn Bell, who now has 8 after her three-goal performance against WPU.
In goal, senior standout Kaitlin Mills pulled in 8 saves.
The Spartans will have a quick turnaround playing again on Monday at Culver-Stockton College. The two teams were scheduled to open KCAC play on Thursday afternoon, however, thunderstorms got in the way of those plans. Game time is set for 4 p.m. in Canton.
