Statesmen Bested by Missouri Baptist in Physical Match
St. Louis, Mo.–The No. 8 William Penn men’s soccer team created plenty of chances but couldn’t convert enough of them, falling 2-1 to Missouri Baptist in a physical Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.
The Statesmen (7-3-4, 5-2-3 Heart) outshot the Spartans 20-9 overall and held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal but were ultimately bested in efficiency by the hosts (5-7-3, 4-5-2 Heart).
Missouri Baptist opened scoring in the sixth minute, and momentum swung further when the Statesmen went down a man at the 44:55 mark.
Despite a 12-5 shot advantage in the first half, William Penn was unable to find the equalizer before the break.
The Statesmen finally broke through in the 74th minute when Rob Stoop (So., Bosch en Duin, Netherlands, Sports Management) buried a set-piece delivery from Santiago Ruiz Haro (Grad., Mexico City, Mexico, Master’s of Sports Management).
The celebration was short-lived, however, as the Spartans regained the lead just four minutes later.
William Penn pressed relentlessly down the stretch, outshooting MBU 8-4 in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net again.
John-Joe Mullane (Sr., Kent, England, Sports Management) led the offense with six shots, while Matias Meijide (Grad., Brunete, Spain, Master’s of Organizational Leadership) followed with three.
The contest proved to be one of the most physical of the season, featuring 59 fouls and 11 cards, including one red card for each side.
“More upset than disappointed at this point,” said Head Coach Joe Minton. “I take full responsibility for the loss, for not taking players off with yellow cards.”
He continued, “The season has gotten away from us, unfortunately. It’ll be a shocker if we qualify for the tournament now.”
“We have to look internally and figure out the problem,” he added. “I don’t think we’re at the level I thought we were. The wins now look a little bit rocky, so we have to dust ourselves off, pick up results where we can, and hope things go our way enough to sneak into the tournament.”
Up Next: The Statesmen return home next Tuesday to face Park at Drost Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Heart play.
