2023 Women's Lacrosse Season Preview

2022 6-9, 4-4 Heart
Starters returning/lost: 11/1
Letterwinners returning/lost: 14-4

Top Returners:
MacKenzie Petersen, Sr., Albertville, Minn.
(Second-team all-KCAC, 44 goals, 13 assists)
Bailee Royal, Sr., Hallsville, Texas
(Letterwinner, 41 goals, 25 ground balls)
Ashlyn Hoffman, Jr., Bend, Ore
(Letterwinner, 17 goals, 15 ground balls)
Victoria Negron, Jr., Miami, Fla.
(Letterwinner, 12 ground balls)

Notable Losses:
Cher Stoup
(Second-team all-KCAC)

Interim Head Coach Joshua Bell will take an experienced squad into battle this spring as the William Penn women's lacrosse team heads into the 2023 season.

WPU, which was 6-9 last year (4-4 KCAC), closed out its 2022 campaign in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Quarterfinals.  During the offseason, women's lacrosse became sponsored by the Heart of America Athletic Conference, joining nearly every other sport on William Penn's campus.

Attack

Emily Ferguson (Jr., Waterloo, N.Y., Exercise Science) figures to lead the attackers after posting 28 goals in her first year in the navy and gold.  Paola Cruz (Sr., Ocala, Fla., Biology) is expected to be called upon more often this year as well.  She scored a pair of goals in 2022.

Midfield

MacKenzie Petersen (Jr., Albertville, Minn., Public Accounting) and Bailee Royal (Jr., Hallsville, Texas, Sports Management) highlight a cast of returners in the midfield. Petersen led WPU with 44 goals and 13 assists last season, while Royal was right behind her with 41 goals and six helpers.

Ashlyn Hoffman (Jr., Bend, Ore, Nursing) was a solid complement to her teammates with 17 goals, while Jenna Donlan (Sr., Tampa, Fla., Business Management) was also an efficient contributor with 11 goals on just 19 shots for a team-best 57.9% shooting clip.

Defense

Victoria Negron (Jr., Miami, Fla., Exercise Science) will lead the defensive side of the team and will be aided by Tara Dryml (Sr., Independence, Iowa, Elementary Education) and Kadi Casey (Fr., Navarre, Fla.).  The Statesmen permitted just 10.7 goals per game in 2022.

Goalkeeper

Madison Reed (Sr., Shakopee, Minn., Secondary Education) returns as the primary option in goal again. The senior tallied 151 saves last year, with a save percentage of 42.4%.

Reed will miss some time due to student teaching, and in her absence Annie Gruber (Jr., Eagan, Min., Psychology) will be stepping up.  Gruber will also serve on the defensive line for the navy and gold when Reed is on the field.

Schedule/Conference

The Statesmen begin their season Friday by 'hosting' Hamline (Minn.) in West Des Moines.  WPU plays its first official home game on February 26 against Health Sciences and Pharmacy.  Then, after eight non-conference matchups, WPU opens Heart play at home on March 21 versus Missouri Valley.

William Penn is picked to finish third in the six-team Heart with defending national champion Benedictine expected to win the league.