William Penn Beat Up in Second Half by Central

William Penn University Athletics

Pella–The Statesmen soccer team went into halftime all knotted up with Central, but a painful second half sent the navy and gold home with a 5-1 loss in non-conference action Tuesday.

William Penn (7-9) was outshot 16-9, including a 10-5 disadvantage in the first 45 minutes. Fortunately, the visitors were able to exchange goals in the early minutes. The Dutch (6-8-2) scored in the eighth minute, while Victor Cruz (Jr., Elsa, Texas, Business Management) tied the contest at the 21:52 mark off a pass from Bruno Hamdan (Fr., Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Biology).

Cruz’s goal is his team-leading sixth, while Hamdan’s assist is his first of 2012. The junior was by far the best offensive player for the Statesmen with five shots.

Although it only held a 6-4 edge in shots, Central dominated the second stanza scoring. The home team scored in the 59th, 70th, 85th, and 87th minutes.

Mason Bandy (So., Calgary, Alberta, Biology) tallied four saves in the loss.

Next: William Penn travels to Des Moines Saturday to meet Grand View in Midwest Collegiate Conference action at 7:45 p.m.