Statesmen Shock No. 2 OKWU, Advance to National Quarterfinals
Orange Beach, Ala.–The William Penn men’s soccer team delivered one of the biggest upsets of the NAIA postseason Tuesday, knocking off No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan 2–0 in the Men’s Soccer National Championship Round of 16.
The unseeded Statesmen (13–5–4) now advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal, where they will face the winner of John Brown vs. MidAmerica Nazarene at 4:00 p.m. CST.
WPU edged OKWU 8–6 in total shots and matched the Eagles with four shots on target. The opening half was cagey, with both defenses allowing only two attempts. The Statesmen found more rhythm in the second period, outshooting OKWU 6–4.
The breakthrough came in the 59th minute from a long throw by John-Joe Mullane (Sr., Kent, England, Sports Management). His delivery was headed along by Matias Meijide (Grad., Brunete, Spain, Organizational Leadership) to Hector Bastos (Fr., Vitoria, Brazil, Sports Management), who chipped the ball past the keeper to give William Penn the lead.
The Navy and Gold sealed the match in the 89th minute. A saved effort from Jaime Rozalen (Jr., Valencia, Spain, Business Management) rebounded back to his feet. The junior found Sven Henneberg (So., Detmold, Germany, Sports Management), who deftly lifted the ball into the net for the 2–0 advantage.
A physical contest from start to finish, the Statesmen held a 13–8 edge in fouls while OKWU finished with an 8–6 advantage in cards, including a 4–1 tally in red cards.
Leonardo Jimenez (Fr., Mexico City, Mexico, Business Management) paced the attack with two shots on goal.
In net, Ryan Walsh-Rowe (Sr., Wexford, Ireland, Business Management) anchored the defense with a four-save shutout.
“It was a good game. I believe that our defensive line was perfect today,” said Bastos. “We are in the quarterfinals, and I am so proud of my team. I am feeling so happy to score too.”
“First of all, I want to thank everybody and the coaches for trusting me to put me on. Overall, the team effort was great. We didn’t concede a goal, so it made it easy on us, striking, to score and give chances,” said Henneberg. “Happy for my first goal of the season, finally got a chance to take it. From now on, every door is open, and we will go very far.”
“Obviously happy with the clean sheet. 2-0 victory against one of the best teams we’ve played this year,” Said Walsh-Rowe. “Hopefully, we can do the same Thursday against MidAmerica.”
“Great overall team performance against a great Oklahoma Wesleyan team. Bit of a damper with what happened at the end, but we will take all of the positives we can and keep going,” said Head Coach Joe Minton. “The national tournament is all about getting downhill as quickly as possible and maintaining momentum, so we will do everything we can to maintain it.”
Talking about the upcoming Quarterfinals, Minton said, “All eyes on Thursday when we are going into a bit of an underdog against an overdog. We are going to look to do what we can on Thursday and take down another overdog.”
Up Next: William Penn moves on to the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Quarterfinals on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. CST, taking on the winner of John Brown vs. MidAmerica Nazarene.
