Offense Can’t Get Going in Loss to Vikings

Des Moines–The William Penn men’s soccer team looked to make it a perfect 2-0 in the early goings of Heart of America Athletic Conference play, but could not get the offense going as they fell 1-0 to the Grand View Vikings.

The loss evens up William Penn’s conference record at 1-1, while the Vikings move to 2-1 in Heart action.

Offense proved hard to come by during the entire match, but the Statesmen earned an early set piece from Lukas Koch (Sr., Moers Germany, Sports Management). The corner kick did not amount to anything, but just a couple minutes later, Gianmarco Centrella (Jr., Rome, Italy, Business Management) forced the Grand View goalie into action with an on target shot.

Just past the 30 minute mark, the Statesmen once again had a golden opportunity to score, but shots from Joseph Kitengie (Jr., Benoni, South Africa, Business Management) and Koch were denied within 30 seconds of each other to keep the game scoreless.

At halftime, the two teams were practically identical in the stat sheet. Both teams had three shots and two corner kicks, with the Statesmen having committed only one more foul than their hosts. Going into the second half, it was just going to be a matter of who blinked first between the two well-matched teams.

Centrella fired off the first shot of the second half, but his shot sailed wide of target. Less than 10 minutes later, the Vikings poured heavy pressure on Miguel Barbosa (Grad, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Master’s of Sports Management), putting up three shots in less than 20 seconds off a free kick. Barbosa, keen to the challenge, earned just as many saves in those twenty seconds; an impressive display of defense to keep the Vikings off the scoreboard.

A period of quiet play followed, with neither side able to capture the momentum again. Barbosa was forced into making another save around the 77th minute, but that was the only shot to speak of for either side in that span.

There continued to be nothing until the 85th minute, when the Vikings were finally able to break through, taking advantage of a tough deflection and turning it into a goal.

That one goal held up, as the Statesmen did not fire away any more shots and lost 1-0.

Centrella accounted for two of the team’s four shots on the evening, with Kitengie and Koch taking the other two.

Barbosa had a busy night in goal, saving six of the seven on target shots he saw.

What’s Next: The Statesmen have a tall task in front of them as they return to Drost Field on Saturday for Homecoming. The #2 Central Methodist Eagles will come into town for a 5:30 PM kickoff.