Statesmen Shut Out by Yellowjackets in Postponed Game

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The momentum from a huge win earlier this week was unfortunately not carried into the weekend as the William Penn men’s soccer team came up short in a 1-0 loss to Graceland in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Sunday.

Unplayable field conditions in Lamoni on Saturday forced the contest to be both postponed 24 hours and also moved to Oskaloosa and the turf of Lacey Complex Stadium. While it was a home game for WPU (9-3, 4-2 Heart), it was not that much of an advantage for the navy and gold as they have not played on the field for years. Mist turned to rain complicated efforts for both sides as well.

The Statesmen outshot GU (5-4-1, 2-4 Heart) 9-5 in the opening stanza, but the visitors scored the day’s lone goal at the 38:05 mark.

Unfortunately, the home squad did not fare much better in the second half as they were on the short end of a 12-4 edge in shots (17-13 overall). The trio of Eduardo Bonatto (So., Rio Grande, Brazil, Business Management), Kenedy Deviska (Fr., Haiti, Wellness and Recreation), and Bernardo Lima (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Exercise Science) each had three shots Sunday.

Austin Munoz (Jr., Harrisville, Utah, Sports Management) finished with five saves in his first career start.

“This was not a good performance by us and unfortunately we did not deserve to win,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “Individual performances let us down and we never dealt with the weather conditions. I expected much more from us, especially after the big win on Wednesday against Grand View. This is a tough loss to take and now we have lots of work to do if we want to take down Mount Mercy.”

“I want to thank our game-day operations staff for making this game happen,” Highcock added.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids Wednesday to face Mount Mercy in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.