Second-Half Surge Lifts Statesmen to Victory

Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s soccer team scored four second-half goals Saturday to defeat Stephens 4-1 in non-conference play.

WPU (2-1) held a 5-2 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes of action, but neither team was able to capitalize before halftime.

Following a cool-down in the locker room, the Statesmen came out hot in the second period. Anna Museler (Sr., Dresden, Germany, Engineering) broke the scoreless tie just 2:09 into the stanza as she scored off a corner kick from Heleen Engelmoer (Fr., Sneek, Netherlands, Kinesiology).

Fifteen minutes later, the hosts took advantage of an own goal by the Stars (1-1-1) to double their advantage, while Hadley Wolfe (Fr., Fort Madison, Iowa, Elementary Education) continued the squad’s dominance by working through the defense and drilling an unassisted shot into the netting in the 75th minute for a 3-0 lead.

Stephens finally got in the scoring column in the 80th minute to put pressure on WPU, but Sian Bah (Sr., London, England, Political Science) put the game on ice by scoring at the 85:50 mark.

At game’s end, the navy and gold posted a 22-11 advantage in shots.

Penelope Nelson (Fr., Dayton, Ohio, Exercise Science) came up with five saves, including a pair of one-on-one stops, to help the Statesmen take the victory.

“We got a really positive result today,” Head Coach Kaleb Preston said. “It was a very end-to-end game, and we had players step up in critical moments. It was a ton of fun to watch and be a part of the second half. We now need to use this as fuel and motivation going into Monday.”

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Monday to host Dordt in its non-conference finale at 3 p.m.