Lady Statesmen Snap Lengthy Losing Streak
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s soccer team may make a point of always keeping September 9th on its schedule as it broke a long losing streak with a 6-0 win over Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) Sunday.
Besides receiving a forfeit late last year, Sunday’s win for the Lady Statesmen (1-6) was their first since September 9 of last year, a span of 17 games without a victory.
The navy and gold dominated the contest (18-8 advantage in shots), but did not get on the board until Emmanuella Meneide (Jr., Turks and Caicos, University of the Southwest) scored at the 27:11 mark. The goal was her first in a Lady Statesmen uniform.
That opened the door for William Penn as Kate Thayer (Fr., East Fremantle, Australia, John Curtin HS) found the back of the net just over two minutes later on a Marci Smith (So., Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) pass. Thayer now has three goals in 2012.
Jordan Davis (Sr., Centerville, Indian Hills CC) joined Meneide at 36:51 with her first navy and gold score. The assist was credit to Silvia Munoz (Fr., Paramount, Calif., St. Matthias HS), her first of the fall.
Meneide concluded her team’s first-half scoring with another unassisted goal in the 39th minute.
Although she already had an assist, Munoz truly made her impact post-halftime with goals at 47:02 (unassisted) and 56:42. Kirsty Fraser (Jr., Perth, Australia, Iowa Central CC) assisted Munoz on the second tally. Munoz is now tied with Thayer for the team lead in goals (3).
William Penn’s six goals were the most for the program since September 10, 2010 when it put eight on the board in an 8-0 victory over MacMurray (Ill.).
Amber Klootwyk (Fr., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) made three saves in the start, while Laura Gentry (Jr., Fruitland, Idaho, Fruitland HS) recorded a save off the bench.
“Today’s performance is what we are capable of,” Head Coach Willie McGowan said. “We played for each other, showed a lot of patience and composure on the ball, and were solid defensively. We do have the potential to play better and are still learning how to gel as a team.”
“I feel like we took a big step forward today and now have a new outlook to the season ahead of us,” McGowan said.
Next: William Penn remains at home next Saturday, hosting Northwestern in non-conference action at 5 p.m.
