Navarro’s Hat Trick Guides WPU to Upset of #18 Midland

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–Diego Navarro (Fr., Madrid, Spain, Mechanical Engineering) scored all three goals as the Statesmen men’s soccer team knocked off #18 Midland 3-2 in non-conference play Tuesday.

William Penn (3-1-1), which is off to its best start since 2014 (4-0), has now defeated a ranked foe for the third season in a row.

The visitors drew first blood, though, scoring in the sixth minute. They kept that advantage for the next 13 minutes, but Navarro knotted the battle at 1-1 at the 18:36 mark. Jack Kindell-Brown (Jr., Chelmsford, England, Physical Education) assisted by sending the corner kick into the box and Navarro headed it home.

The freshman, who now has a team-best six goals, tacked on another score in the 35th minute and then made it 3-1 just 76 seconds later; both were unassisted. Navarro’s hat trick is the first since last October 22 and the 17th in school history. It also marks the third-straight campaign in which a Statesmen has recorded a hat trick.

Caleb Pipes-Goulsbra (Sr., Lincoln, England, Exercise Science) permitted one second-half goal in the 65th minute, but recorded eight saves to preserve the victory.

“I am immensely proud of our players,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “This is one of the strongest wins this program has had in recent history and our players fully deserved it. We used the final game the non-conference season to try a new formation and our players bought into the system successfully.”

“We worked extremely hard physically and tactically; this is a win we can be proud of,” Highcock added. “We will take it one game at a time and look forward to starting conference Saturday. A special thanks to our fans for a great night of soccer!”

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Evangel in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener at 7 p.m.