NEW LONDON, Conn. — Penn State Behrend goalkeeper Monica Villasenor (Fr., San Gabriel, Calif./La Salle) stopped 11 shots to earn Player of the Game recognition as the Lions managed Wheaton College (Mass.), 7-2, on the second day of the 2024 CWPA Division III Championship hosted by Connecticut College at the Jane Cadwell Lott ’36 Natatorium.
Penn State Behrend (5-17, 3-5 CWPA Division III) will return to the water to compete for Seventh Place at 9:00 a.m. Eastern/6:00 a.m. Pacific on Sunday, April 21, against the loser of a consolation game pitting Connecticut College and Grove City College. Historically, the Lions have previously placed fourth (2016), fifth (2018), seventh (2013, 2015, 2017), eighth (2010, 2014, 2019, 2022) and ninth (2011, 2012, 2023) at the CWPA Division III Championship.
Wheaton (0-13, 0-8 CWPA Division III) sees its inaugural varsity season come to a close as the Lyons place Ninth in the nine-team championship field.
PSB never trailed in the game as Kieffer Beckman (So., Wildwood, Mo./Eureka) put the Lions in front to stay within the first minute of game action courtesy back-to-back goals at the 7:45 and 7:01 marks of the first quarter. Nic Darrell (Jr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and Marley Persch (Jr., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) capped off the first quarter scoring by whipping in shots at 1:52 and 46 seconds, respectively, for a 4-0 lead.
Ava Biancheri (Fr., Westborough, Mass./Westborough) placed Wheaton on the scoreboard with 5:37 remaining in the second quarter prior to Scarlett Hall (Fr., Carlsbad, Calif./San Marcos) answering for the Lions at 5:08 to make it a 5-1 game entering halftime.
Neither team dented the twine again until Persch punched in her second strike of the contest with 1:10 to go in the third quarter to inflate Penn State Behrend’s lead to 6-1.
Both teams found the back of the cage in the closing eight minutes of the fourth quarter as Allie Taylor (Jr., Raleigh, N.C./North Raleigh Christian Academy) and Olivia Wright (Sr., Fairview, Pa./Fairview) swished chances for Wheaton (6:12) and Penn State Behrend (5:41), respectively.
For the Lions, Beckman and Persch both chipped in pairs of goals, while Wright, Hall and Darrell tacked on solo markers in support of Villasenor.
Biancheri and Taylor accounted for Wheaton’s offense as the team completes its inaugural season under interim head coach GT Ladd. Amelia Brown (Fr., Acton, Mass./Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School) stopped two shots in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Wheaton College |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 2 |
| Penn State Behrend | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Penn State Behrend Goals: | Kieffer Beckman (2); Marley Persch (2); Olivia Wright; Scarlett Hall; Nic Darrell | |||||
| Wheaton Goals: | Ava Biancheri; Allie Taylor | |||||
| Saves: | Penn State Behrend – Monica Villasenor (11) ; Wheaton – Amelia Brown (2) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Penn State Behrend – 2 ; Wheaton – 2 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Penn State Behrend – 0-for-2 ; Wheaton – 0-for-2 | |||||
| Sprints: | Penn State Behrend – 3-for-4 (1st, 3rd, 4th) ; Wheaton – 1-for-4 (2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Joe Peila, Martin Murray | |||||
Wheaton College’s Savannah Sedlock (#4) attempts a shot as Penn State Behrend’s Lauren True (#8) defends
Wheaton College’s Piper Rakip (#13) looks to make a pass around Penn State Behrend’s Dylan Scherping (#3)
Wheaton College’s Josephine Basco (#3) attempts to stop Penn State Behrend’s Lauren True (#8)
