Magana’s Goal the Lone Score for WPU as Eagles Advance
Fayette, Mo. — William Penn men’s soccer picked up their second win in program history in the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament over the weekend. Last year in the semifinals, the team dropped a close one at home to Grand View. This year, they had to go on the road to face #1 Central Methodist. The Statesmen fell behind early but fought back towards the end of the first to trail 2-1 at the half. But the Eagles kept their cool and slotted in a PK goal to secure the win in the second act 3-1. William Penn will fall to 12-8 overall and now will have to wait and see if they will make the NAIA National Tournament.
It was a spirited start for the navy and gold, who drove the ball deep into the CMU half to start the match. Earning a throw-in on the far side, a good heave missed a couple WPU heads in the box, as the boll rolled past the goal mouth and out of bounds. A cross, sent in after a foul, floated tantalizing towards the six-yard box, but CMU keeper Bosco Perry jumped in the air to catch it before Kenedy Deviska (Jr., Pignon, Haiti, Wellness & Recreation) could get to it.
Weathering the first five minutes of attacking play by the Statesmen, the Eagles began their own counter-punch. The hosts collected the first corner kick of the match and generated a couple of looks for their forwards. Yet the back line for WPU held and the game became a tussle in the midfield.
The breakthrough came just shy of the 15th minute, as William Penn thought they had made a successful clear. But a midfielder for the Eagles skied one back immediately to the top of the 18-yard box. It then fell kindly for Clayton Duarte, who fit his shot into the near side-netting past Rafael Martins (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) to get CMU on the board.
Just about 10 minutes later, the reigning champs made it 2-nil. A loose ball bounced to Theo Klein, who performed an exquisite acrobatic goal to double the lead for the home side. An answer from the Statesmen almost came on their next attack, with Deviska taking the ball into the six-yard box. He turned to shoot but he could not get any room to unload. Instead, he passed it to Sagar Bhattarai (Jr., Columbus, Ohio) , but he could not get any pace behind his attempt and Perry made the stop.
The game began to level out once more, as both sides looked for gaps in the lines. The Statesmen then found some confidence and slowly began to reverse the tide, ranging forward once more. A shot from Vincenzo Centrella (So., Rome, Italy) was stopped, as he made a quick turn and fired from outside the box. The Eagles raced the other way right after but Martins kept things even with a quality save.
Springing forward into the attacking third, William Penn found a couple corner kicks put could not convert one into a goal. However, a throw-in miscue gave the ball to WPU. The ball came to Milton Magana (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.), who started to dribble forward. He almost left it behind him but recovered to then put his boot through a shot from 30 yards out. The strike was true, as it went in just under the crossbar to put the Statesmen on the board, as Magana picked up his fifth goal of the season in the 42nd minute.
A couple more chances from corner kicks did not produce anything for the Statesmen and the Eagles took a 2-1 lead into the intermission. William Penn outshot the Eagles 8-6 in the first half but each side had four shots on goal. The navy and gold had a 5-4 edge in corner kicks and committed only three fouls in the first 45. Martins made two stops in the frame.
CMU looked very dangerous at start of the second half, almost scoring on their first shot that landed off a head and then went over the bar. Another couple of chances and went wide, as the Eagles tried to gain full control of the game. Just shy of 50 minutes played, WPU launched a ball into the box from deep and everyone missed it on the jump. Centrella tried to send it back to the box, but he was sliding behind the goal and his tap back towards the penalty spot was cleared out by an Eagle defender.
The hour marked passed without any goals, though the Eagles had more control of possession. The Statesmen could get the ball forward but could not find a good passing or shooting lane. A few minutes later, CMU created a glorious chance but Martins turned to watch the header sail over the goal.
Both sides saw some enticing crosses over the next 10 minutes but each ball was cleared away. The Statesmen had a free kick from about 30 yards out blocked and another cross bounce through the box. The Eagles got a free header off a long throw but Martins went to ground to make the save.
In the 68th minute, Lukas Koch (So., Moers, Germany, Sports Management) delivered a free kick that bounced right in front of a couple players for the navy and gold. Aaron Keita (Jr., Liberia, Africa) put a foot to the ball but Perry once more rose to the occasion and kept it out.
Off the ensuing goal kick, the ball bounced down the field and eventually wound up in the defensive end for the Statesmen. Chasing the dangerous chance was Korby Ring (So., Independence, Mo., Political Science), but his sliding tackle was too aggressive for the likes of the referee, and a penalty kick was awarded. Klein went right as Martins dove the other way, the PK goal sending the Eagles ahead 3-1.
The danger increased as CMU tallied a couple corner kicks in a row but the Statesmen denied them another score. Edgar Tavares (Jr., Everett, Wash.) then had a decent look on the far side of the box in the 72nd minute but Perry had the far-post sealed up and he pushed it away.
A huge blow then came for the Statesmen as Deviska was shown a straight red card from the official in the 74th minute. Down to 10 men, WPU did all they could to keep the Eagles off the board. Martins made a couple of saves right after the card as CMU drove in for the kill-shot.
Yet the navy and gold did not concede and actually made a couple lunges forward in the final five minutes of play. A header from Donaciano Mesina (Sr., Inglewood, Calif., Sports Management) was saved by Perry and another one from WPU a couple minutes later missed wide.
With a couple minutes to go, a foul on William Penn near midfield was taken quickly by the Eagles, which resulted in Martins staring down an attacker all alone. He made a fantastic stop to deflect it over the crossbar, keeping the score 3-1.
That would be the final action though, as clock reached 90:00 and the Eagles claimed a 3-1 victory. The hosts outshot WPU 18-12 and 9-7 in terms of shots on goal. They also held an 8-7 advantage in corner kicks.
Deviska had three shots to lead the team despite the red card. Centrella, Tavares, and Bhattarai each had two. Martins made six saves in net.
The team will now wait for the NAIA selection show to see if their season continues. The team just entered the receiving votes category today, as they will have to hope that their spring season and other results help them get an at large bid to the big dance.
“The boys gave them the best game we could, but we just didn’t take our chances,” said Head Coach Simon Brown. “You don’t get that many bites off the cherry against CMY without needing to score. All we can hope for now is the raters give us a chance in the National Tournament.”
