Men's Lacrosse Suffers Home Loss to William Woods

Marshall, Mo., (April 5, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's lacrosse teams played a home doubleheader Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The women's team fell to Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Mo.), 14-7, while the men's team dropped the contest to William Woods (Mo.), 18-6.

The men's game opened with William Woods going in front early, scoring the first goal with three minutes into the contest.  The Owls added another goal near the 11-minute mark to make it a 2-0 score.  The two teams traded possession over the next stretch of play, which included three saves from Senior Goalkeeper Jake Lipscomb (Boiling Springs, S.C.), and one shot on goal each from Senior Defender Aleix Costa Guerrero (Barcelona, Spain) and Senior Defender Alvaro Atienza (Madrid, Spain), but both attempts were saved.  William Woods scored a goal with less than four minutes in the first quarter to hold a 3-0 advantage.  The Vikings scored their first goal, as Senior Attack Carson Willey (Carstairs, Alberta) caused a turnover and then scored with one minute left to keep the scoreboard close, 3-1.

The second quarter started with the Owls scoring an early goal on a man-up opportunity, extending their advantage, 4-1.  Teams traded possession midway through the quarter, and Missouri Valley created some offense as both Senior Defender Jordan Bracamonte (Tucson, Ariz.) and Willey each had two shots on goal, which were saved.  The Vikings eventually scored, as Willey assisted Bracamonte, who finished off with a goal on a man-up opportunity near the seven-minute mark to close the gap to 4-2.  William Woods responded, adding two more goals in the final minutes of the second quarter, and MVC went into halftime trailing, 6-2.

The Vikings deficit grew in the third quarter, as the Owls made it an 8-2 advantage with six minutes played.  Then, Atienza hit the crossbar and Senior Attack Jayden Simpliciano (Honolulu, Hawaii) came up with a ground ball moments later to eventually finish the play with a goal with less than six minutes in the quarter, 8-3.  William Woods responded quickly after the restart, as they scored three goals in less than two minutes to make it an 11-3 score. Missouri Valley added one goal before the end of the quarter, as Freshman Midfielder Shiloh Martin (Upper Marlboro, Md.) set up Atienza with a goal to cut the deficit to 11-4.  

The fourth quarter started with the two teams trading possession over the first six minutes, which included four saves from Lipscomb and two shots on target for the Vikings.  Atienza scored his second goal on the contest near the nine-minute mark, but the Owls answered back quickly after the faceoff adding two more goals in less than a minute to hold a 13-5 lead.  Missouri Valley scored one more goal near the six-minute mark as Willey assisted Bracamonte to make it a 13-6 score.  William Wood continued to have the better possession through the rest of the quarter, and added five more goals to close the game. The Vikings fell by a final score of 18-6.  

Atienza led with two goals and five ground balls.  Willey followed with two goals and one assist, while Simpliciano and Bracamonte finished with one goal each.  Lipscomb made 22 saves and reached his 600th career save.  Missouri Valley forced eight turnovers, came up with 27 ground balls, and finished 16 of 21 on clear attempts.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 0-6 overall and 0-6 in the Heart.  William Woods improves to 2-7 on the season and 2-4 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking lacrosse teams will travel to Davenport, Iowa, to play St. Ambrose (Iowa) in a Heart doubleheader. Women's game at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.

Box Score - Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Standing out as one of the most innovative and student-focused liberal arts colleges in the Midwest, Missouri Valley College (MVC) is committed to preparing students for success beyond the classroom. Through the Viking Voyage program, MVC prioritizes career readiness from day one, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel after graduation. Each of MVC's 30+ in-demand majors—including nursing, business, cybersecurity, computer science, criminal justice, and exercise science—integrates personal instruction, experiential learning, and professional opportunities to prepare graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing and globally connected world. At Missouri Valley College, higher education is more than earning a degree—it's a transformative journey that begins with the end.