William Penn Athletics News–October 18
William Penn University Athletics
William Penn Ties Again
Oskaloosa–In an important Midwest Collegiate Conference matchup, the Statesmen men’s soccer team permitted a last-second goal to settle for a 1-1 tie with St. Ambrose Saturday.
William Penn (7-6-2, 2-1-2 MCC) flew out of the gate with tremendous offensive aggression. The effort was not wasted as Facundo Benitez (So., Buenos Aires, Argentina, Business Management) scored his first collegiate goal just 3:10 into the afternoon. Sergio Carro (Jr., London, England, Communications) assisted on the score–his second assist of 2014.
The home team, which outshot the Fighting Bees 15-7, continued to be in line for the victory entering the final minute of regulation. Unfortunately, a foul outside the box with only seconds remaining set up SAU (6-8-1, 3-2-1 MCC) to knot the contest. The visitors did exactly that with ten seconds still on the scoreboard to force overtime.
Both sides had chances in the extra periods, but after 13 games without a draw, WPU walked off the field Saturday with a tie for the second-consecutive game.
Three players tallied three shots for William Penn, while goalkeeper Pedro Pereira (So., Sao Paolo, Brazil, Communications) recorded two saves against St. Ambrose.
The tie means the Statesmen will need at least a tie versus Mount Mercy next Saturday to secure a home game for the MCC Tournament. A win in the regular season finale meanwhile, coupled with a Clarke loss or tie to Grand View, would move WPU all the way up to the #2 seed. A loss, however, would drop the squad down to the fifth seed in the very tight conference race.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Pella Tuesday to face Central in non-conference action at 4 p.m.
Statesmen Scoreless in St. Ambrose Tilt
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s soccer team was unable to keep pace near the top of the Midwest Collegiate Conference standings as it suffered a 4-0 loss to St. Ambrose Saturday.
The Statesmen (5-7-3, 2-2-1 MCC) were outshot just 12-4 and played strong defense for most of the afternoon. Unfortunately, the Queen Bees broke through at the 18:48 mark and then posted another goal less than five minutes later.
The margin remained two for SAU (9-5-2, 4-1-1 MCC) until the closing minutes, but the visitors secured the win with two late scores in the 87th and 89th minutes.
Alyce Correia (So., Perth, Australia, Elementary Education) recorded three of WPU’s four shot attempts, while Kelly Button (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Business Management) saved four shots between the pipes.
While the loss knocks WPU out of regular season title contention, next Saturday’s season finale against Mount Mercy is a big one for the program. A Statesmen win or a Grand View tie or loss to Clarke will lock up the #4 seed and a first-round home game for the MCC Tournament on November 1 (other tiebreakers could come into play as well).
Next Up: William Penn travels to Indianola Wednesday to face Simpson in non-conference action at 5 p.m.
