Deviska, Statesmen Both Tie All-Time Marks in Victory
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s soccer team ended their regular season slate with a bang, defeating the Evangel Valor 8-0 to give the seniors a senior day to remember. Kenedy Deviska’s (Sr., Pignon, Haiti, Wellness and Recreation) two late scores in the contest put him into a tie for first atop the all-time goals leaders in William Penn history.
The Statesmen, who tied a program record with their seventh consecutive win, improve to 12-6 on the year and 8-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
From first kickoff, the Statesmen completely dominated all facets of the game. They fired off six shots in the first 10 minutes, five of them on goal, but struggled to get into the scoring column despite the pressure on the keeper. Aidan Twohig (Jr., Middlesbrough, England, Sports Management) finally got one through, taking a pass from Hugo Lorenzo (So., Madrid, Spain, Mechanical Engineering) for the opening score and his second of the year.
The Statesmen continued to put pressure on, but it took 12 minutes for them to add to the lead. Joseph Kitengie (Jr., Benoni, South Africa, Business Management) scored his sixth of the year, with Chanin Olandin (Fr., Oslo, Norway, Sports Management) on the assist. Kitengie remained involved on the attack, helping the navy and gold to a 4-0 lead by halftime as Kitengie assisted scores by Luigi Mongan (Fr., Manchester, England, Business Management) and Axxel Chazaro-Lara (Jr., Kansas City, Mo.).
It was as dominant of a half as a team could have, as the Statesmen outshot the Valor by a margin of 23-0. Of those shots, 13 of them came on goal. William Penn also had the benefit of seven set pieces while ceding none to the visitors.
Kicking off the second half, Edan Sears (Fr., Telford, England, Sports Management) tried to continue the offensive run, but missed a header wide. It didn’t take him long to earn another chance, scoring his first goal of the season to put the Statesmen up by five. Gianmarco Centrella (Jr., Rome, Italy, Sports Management) got in on the action as well, driving home his team-leading 12th goal of the season.
To cap off the scoring, Deviska scored the seventh and eight goals of the season. It continues an impressive run of scoring for him, as he has now scored in each of his last six games, accounting for seven goals in that span. The two goals on Saturday bring Deviska’s career total to 42, tying him with Joe Druppel for most in WPU history.
The Statesmen put on an offensive clinic, putting up a season-high 43 shots. 23 of those shots were on goal.
“It was great to get a win on senior day and carry the positive momentum into the playoffs,” said Head Coach Simon Brown. “We look forward to continuing on the success we’ve had recently.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen will play in the Heart quarterfinals on November 5, but they are still awaiting their opponent to be announced.
