Statesmen Snap Streak with Overtime Win Over Graceland

William Penn University Athletics

Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s soccer team got back on the winning trail with a 1-0 overtime victory against Graceland in non-conference play Tuesday.

The Statesmen (5-3), who outshot the Yellowjackets 10-7, broke their three-game losing streak but it took nearly 100 minutes to do so. Although the hosts had the edge in shots, they could not break a scoreless tie through two halves of regular play.

Pedro Pereira (So., Sao Paolo, Brazil, Communications) kept Graceland (1-7) off the board midway through the extra period when he stopped a penalty kick attempt at the 95:20 mark. The sophomore, who was making his first start of the season, finished with three saves in the victory.

A little over three minutes later, a Yellowjacket foul just outside of the opposing box set up a chance for the Statesmen to step up yet again. This time, it was Milo Bruce-Burgess (Sr., Brockenhurst, England, Physical Education) who came up big as he buried the free kick in the back of the netting with 1:30 left in the first overtime. The senior now leads WPU with four goals this fall.

“We put together a team performance tonight,” Head Coach Raphael Martinez said. “Every player did what they needed to do and it showed on the pitch. Yes, Milo scored the brilliant free kick and Pedro made a huge PK save, but it was a total team performance that resulted in this win.”

“We will enjoy this tonight, but we understand that we have a very difficult opponent this weekend—preparation for that starts tomorrow,” Martinez added.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Olathe, Kan. Saturday to face #6 MidAmerica Nazarene in non-conference play at 3 p.m.