Season Ends with 1-0 Quarterfinal Loss to Grand View
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Des Moines–The William Penn women’s soccer team was just under five minutes away from a ‘golden goal’ situation to move on in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament, but could not keep third-seeded Grand View from getting a late goal to claim a 1-0 decision in quarterfinal play Saturday.
The sixth-seeded Statesmen, who end the year at 6-13, were outshot 22-6, but stayed scoreless with the Vikings (11-6-2) until the 85:20 mark.
That was when Jeri Nagle headed in a pass from Kelsie Walter. Grand View will now travel to La Crosse, Wis. next Saturday to face #2 seed Viterbo in the tourney semifinals.
Kami Paulsen (Jr., Bondurant, Iowa, Communications) paced the offense with three shots, including WPU’s lone shot on goal. Alyce Correia (Fr., Perth, Australia, Elementary Education) also managed multiple attempts with two.
Laura Gentry (Sr., Fruitland, Idaho, Physical Education) was instrumental in making it a tight contest as she posted ten saves.
“I cannot say enough about this group of players,” Head Coach Willie McGowan said. “We set out with a game plan which they executed very well, but when we decided to have a go at Grand View and apply pressure on them, we got caught and they punished us with the late goal.”
“We all should be holding our heads high after this season,” McGowan added. “The last two performances against Grand View have been outstanding.”
The loss ends the collegiate careers of 11 seniors, including Ashlynn Betts (Jenks, Okla., Biology), Brenay Fonseca (San Bernandino, Calif., Physical Education), Kirsty Fraser (Perth, Australia, Elementary Education), Gentry, Brittany Grier (Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., Secondary Education), Leslie Hernandez (Bolingbrook, Ill., Biology), Emmanuela Meneide (Turks and Caicos, Biology), Ali Parks (Omaha, Neb., Elementary Education), Kyra Peery (Draper, Utah, Biology), Whitney Reber (Ottumwa, Iowa, Master’s of Business Leadership), and Marci Smith (Runnells, Iowa, Biology).
“I am delighted for the seniors as they have been a big part of making this season memorable and being competitive in every game,” McGowan said. “If we can use these performances as a building block for the future, we will do very well. The difference from last year to this year is a good indicator to suggest we are moving in the right direction and becoming very competitive against some of the NAIA’s best.”
