Return to Road Successful with 3-1 Triumph Over Benedictine
Atchison, Kan.–The Statesmen men’s soccer team downed a difficult foe away from home Saturday as it won 3-1 over Benedictine in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
Despite only holding a 10-9 edge in shots, No. 8 WPU (6-1-3, 4-0-2 Heart), which hit the road after a three-game homestand, was able to move its winning streak to three. After falling in their season opener, the Statesmen have not suffered a setback, going 6-0-3 over their last nine outings.
Off a set piece from John-Joe Mullane (Sr., Kent, England, Sports Management), Matias Meijide (Grad., Brunete, Spain, Master’s of Organizational Leadership) produced in the game’s first shot of the night, scoring at the 10:48 mark.
Nearly 30 minutes passed before another goal was scored, but then two were put on the board in a span of just 12 seconds.
The Ravens (6-5-1, 2-5 Heart), who are receiving votes nationally, scored first at 38:22 to knot the game.
The following kickoff was then played back to Rob Stoop (So., Bosch en Duin, Netherlands, Exercise Science), who launched the ball towards the back line of the hosts. The pass was inadvertently headed forward by a BC player, and Hector Bastos (Fr., Vittoria, Spain, Computer Science) then tracked it down and deposited it in the back of the net to once again give the visitors the lead at the 38:34 mark.
The navy and gold came out of intermission up 2-1 and immediately doubled their advantage as a throw-in by Mullane found the foot of Angel Valdez (So., Mexicali, Mexico, Nursing), and he beat the Raven goalkeeper just 1:32 into the second half.
WPU’s defense faced a barrage of Benedictine attempts over the next few minutes (six total in the second half), but Ryan Walsh-Rowe (Wexford, Ireland, Business Management) and company did not allow the margin to shrink. The senior ended the win with four saves.
Valdez and Albert Feixas (So., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science) both notched a team-best two shots Saturday.
“This was a very good team performance against a very good Benedictine team,” Head Coach Joe Minton said. “It is always good to react in the way we did after conceding a goal. This was a very mature and organized performance from the lads who showed adaptability in the right moments.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fulton, Mo. next Saturday to face William Woods in Heart play at 3:30 p.m.
