Statesmen Fall Short in OT to Holy Cross

William Penn University Athletics

South Bend, Ind.–An early goal by Nenad Markovic (So., Belgrade, Serbia) unfortunately did not hold up Saturday as the William Penn men’s soccer team lost 2-1 in overtime to Holy Cross (Ind.) to conclude the Goshen Tournament.

The Statesmen (1-2-1) were outshot 19-14, but actually led for most of the afternoon, courtesy of Markovic’s tally at the 11:11 mark. Tom Denat (Fr., Toulouse, France, Physical Education) assisted on the goal, which was Markovic’s team-best fourth of the year.

The sophomore paced WPU with eight shots, but HCC (1-1-2) took advantage of a penalty kick in the 81st minute to even things up at 1-1. The Saints eventually completed the rally 4:51 into the extra session.

Emannuel Esparza (So., Posen, Ill., Physical Education (K-12)) managed five saves in the loss.

“We were very unlucky to lose this game; we deserved more,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “We played very well this weekend, but were not strong enough to hold onto the victories. We have lots of things to learn from, but we look forward to playing on Tuesday.”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host #7 Columbia (Mo.) in non-conference action at 5:30 p.m.