Making a Statement: Statesmen Down #1 Vikings

Marshall, Mo.–Unphased by the daunting task at hand, the Statesmen men’s soccer team kicked off its Heart of America Athletic Conference slate in impressive fashion, downing defending national champion Missouri Valley 2-1 Saturday.

William Penn (5-2, 1-0 Heart), which tallied its first win of the year against a top-10 foe, put pressure on its hosts early, earning a corner kick less than a minute into the contest. Unfortunately, it was the Vikings who showed why they claimed the NAIA’s red banner last year, getting on the board first with a goal in the seventh minute.

The Statesmen responded well, forcing the opposing goalie into action with multiple on-target shots from Lukas Koch (Jr., Moers, Germany, Sports Management) and Sagar Bhattarai (Sr., Columbus, Ohio, Information Systems), but they could not get anything to find a home in the back of the net.

On the other side of things, following the early goal, the navy and gold effectively negated the Viking offense. Following the score, Missouri Valley was only able to get two shots away for the rest of the first half, and neither presented a threat to add to the lead.

The Statesmen put up a couple more shots to no avail, as Bhattarai saw another shot saved. However, with less than three minutes left to play in the half, Hugo Lorenzo (So., Madrid, Spain, Mechanical Engineering) found himself one-on-one with the Viking goalie, and a swift move created space for an easy shot. However, Lorenzo was tripped up before he could get the shot away, and a yellow card was assessed to the Missouri Valley goalie. That gave the Statesmen a golden opportunity to equalize before the half and Bhattarai stepped to the 12-yard marker for the penalty kick. The senior went right with his attempt, and although the goalie guessed that same direction, the shot had enough pace on it to still find a home, and the Statesmen headed to the locker room for halftime with the score knotted at 1-1.

The Statesmen outshot their hosts 6-4 for the half with four of those six on target. The Vikings only put one shot on target in the half, but it was an important one, as that it led to their lone goal. However, Missouri Valley had been given more set pieces in the half with five compared to one for WPU.

Neither team was able to generate much offense coming out of the gates in the second half. The first shot for either side did not come until almost eight minutes in, but it sailed high. A couple tries for each team followed, but neither of them presented a threat.

Just past the 81st minute, Kenedy Deviska (Sr., Pignon, Haiti, Wellness and Recreation) was able to create some space and fire a shot away, but it sailed high and left of target. A standard goal kick proceeded, but with nothing to work with in front of them, the Vikings elected to kick it back to the goalie to reset the offense.

The pass back, however, was a weak one, giving Gianmarco Centrella (Jr., Rome, Italy, Business Management) ample time to chase the ball down before the goalie could come out of the box for it. Centrella took one touch and fired away, and the deflection off the keeper still had plenty of momentum to find its way into the goal. His fourth goal of the year gave the Statesmen their first lead of the game with under nine minutes to play. However, they would have to do so without Centrella, who was given his second yellow card of the game following the celebration.

Even shorthanded, the Statesmen stymied the Missouri Valley attackers. The hosts did not get off another shot until over four minutes later, but it only amounted to a slow roller that was easily handled by Miguel Barbosa (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Master’s of Sports Management). The Vikings got one more good look in, but the ball sailed well over the crossbar. Barbosa punched away a late cross out of bounds to effectively seal the game, and as the clock ran down to zero, the Statesmen stormed the pitch to celebrate their huge start to conference play.

For the game, the Statesmen outshot the Vikings by a 10-9 margin, but the navy and gold were much more efficient with their opportunities, putting five of their shots on target compared to only two for their hosts.

“The boys have been knocking on the door for one of these results all season,” said Head Coach Simon Brown following their incredible victory. “We defended like a team and transitioned really well. Missouri Valley is a fantastic team, and we had to be at our best to stand a chance. I’m very happy for this group, and proud to be their coach.”

“Hopefully we take this momentum into a tough game against our biggest rival Grand View on Tuesday,” he added.

What’s Next: The Statesmen will continue their tough opening to Heart play on Tuesday by heading to Des Moines to take on the Grand View Vikings. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.