Statesmen Secure Clean Sheet Victory in Heart Semifinals
Oskaloosa – The William Penn men’s soccer team used a flurry of offense to advance to the league’s title game as it defeated #3 seed Clarke 3-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Semifinals Saturday.
The Statesmen, seeded second with a program-best #5 national ranking, now advance to the Heart Championship, where they will face top-seeded Missouri Valley next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Marshall, Mo.
Despite an 18-10 shot deficit against Clarke (11-5-1), William Penn (15-2-3) capitalized on key opportunities while effectively stifling their opponent’s attack. Though they struggled to find the net in the first half with just four shots, the Statesmen held Clarke scoreless, setting the stage for a decisive second half.
The breakthrough came in the 54th minute when Miguel Menendez (So., Oviedo, Spain, Wellness and Recreation) opened the scoring with a close-range finish, assisted by Leighton Jameson (Jr., Lisburn, North Ireland, Psychology) and Albert Feixas (Fr., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science).
Just three minutes later, Hugo Cornish (So., Sydney, Australia, Business Management) sent a cross to Jaime Rozalen (So., Valencia, Spain, Business Management), who buried the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Luigi Mongan (Sr., Manchester, England, Business Management) then capped the scoring in the 63rd minute when a deflected pass from Connor O’Reilly (Jr., Letterkenny, Ireland, General Accounting) ricocheted off him and into the net.
Nine different Statesmen recorded shots, with John-Joe Mullane (Jr., Kent, England, Sports Management) leading with two attempts.
Goalkeeper Sean Bohan (Sr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) kept busy in goal, registering six saves for his seventh clean sheet of the season.
“I am so happy for this team. We had an awesome performance,” said midfielder Miguel Menendez. “We are going to win the next game and get the ring.”
“I am proud of the guys for dealing with the adversity and keeping a clean sheet,” added Head Coach Simon Brown. “We want to win a conference title and are going against a beast in Missouri Valley. We are ready for the battle.”
