Statesmen Fall at MNU
Olathe, Kan. — Looking for another win, the Statesmen traveled down MidAmerica Nazarene to take on the Pioneers. The Pioneers entered 1-1 on the year, but they collected a penalty kick early in the game and rode their defense the rest of the way. Despite taking more shots than their opponent, William Penn ended up taking the 1-0 defeat to fall to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
With some memories on both sides of a physical contest at Drost Field last year, WPU collected a couple of fouls early but also grabbed the first corner kick opportunity of the match as well. Milton Magana (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) fired the first shot of the game, but it missed wide towards the far post. The teams battled through the midfield as MNU eventually got their first shot away but Rafael Martins (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) made a comfortable save.
Unfortunately on the ensuing corner kick, Korby Ring (So., Independence, Mo., Political Science) got called for a hand-ball infraction in the box and the Pioneers slotted it top corner past Martins to take the lead. The home side would keep up the pressure, but the navy and gold held their own and started to bring their attackers back into the mix. Shalon Knight (Jr., Swetes Village, Antigua and Barbuda, Digital Communication) got a shot away, but it too missed wide. Ring had a shot saved in the 23rd minute as the Statesmen looked for the equalizer.
Knight had another shot blocked towards the end of the half and Magana pushed one over the bar in the 41st minute. That would conclude the first half that despite the navy and gold being down a goal seeing them up in the shot department 5-3 and the corner kick count 2-1.
The second half started and once again things were closely contested, but the Pioneers got the first shot away, but Luke Andrews (Jr., Andover, England) blocked it. It took almost 30 minutes for the Statesmen to find a shot in the second 45, but Kenedy Deviska (Jr., Pignon, Haiti, Wellness & Recreation) finally put a good shot on target only to see it saved. Ring also had a deep shot blocked and William Thyer (Jr., Bridgend, Wales, Sports Management) put one over the cross bar on a set-piece look.
The minutes ticked down, but the navy and gold could not get something past the Pioneer goalie. Despite leading the shot category 12-7 and the shots-on-goal tally 4-3, they were unable to get the goal to tie the game.
Two shots was the top mark for the team and four players each reached that mark, with Ring, Sagar Bhattarai (Jr., Columbus, Ohio), Magana, and Knight topping the chart. Martins made two saves on the three shots on goal he faced.
“If you don’t score goals, you don’t win games,” said Head Coach Simon Brown. “Our attacking players had chances to score and didn’t do enough, which ultimately cost us the game.”
Next Up: The Statesmen will face the Mustangs of Mount Mercy in Heart play next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Cedar Rapids.
