Statesmen Beat by Baker
Baldwin City, Kan. — The William Penn women’s soccer team took a long trip down to Kansas to face Baker University. The game was supposed to take place on Saturday, but storms postponed action until Sunday night. The Wildcats and Statesmen battled it out under the lights but the Statesmen could only manage two shots on goal in total. Taking a 4-1 loss, the team falls to 4-6 overall and are still winless in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
The first half saw WPU stand tall despite some good play from the home team. The Statesmen got the first corner kick of the game four minutes in and their first shot by Iris Navarro (Fr., Ontario, Calif., Biology) just a couple minutes later. Adyson Blom (So., Newton, Iowa, Human Services) made her second start of the year in net and was busy all game long. The first shot she faced went over the bar, but the second shot 20 minutes into the game saw the Wildcats take the lead 1-0 as she could not come up with the stop. Blom would make one save in the half as the defense was under siege towards the end of the first 45. Three straight corner kicks for the Wildcats eventually led to a second goal off of a header that Blom could not reach. Down 2-0 at the break, the Statesmen tried to regroup and change some tactics to get a goal back.
The second half indeed started out more promising for the navy and gold. The Statesmen started to battle back and got rolling on offense as the midfield players started to connect going up the pitch. Isabella Pirami (So., South Jordan, Utah, Exercise Science), Navarro, and Morgan McClendon (Jr., St. Joseph, Mo., Sports Management) played well and tried to break forward. A good run down the flank resulted in a ball sent into a melee in the box. Ciara Parrish (Fr., Canoga Park, Calif., Sociology) was able to poke it into the net amid the scrum and the lead was cut in half. Down 2-1, the game returned to a battle in the midfield as Baker started to respond to the goal.
The Statesmen were under pressure as the clock reached the midway point of the second half. After giving up a couple of corners, Baker got one that saw the ball bounce off a couple of players. Blom pushed it away once, but a Baker player headed it over the goalie and in for the home team’s third goal of the game.
The back-breaker came with 16 minutes to go, as the Wildcats strung together some great passes around the backline of the Statesmen. Finishing the passage of play off with a goal, the Wildcats went up 4-1 and won with the same score line. Navarro led the team with two shots, with Parrish and McClendon adding the other two. Blom made one save while the team took one corner kick and committed nine fouls.
“Not a good performance from our women tonight,” said head coach Jaymee Highcock. “We struggled to get going in the first half and conceded two very basic goals. We got back in the game in the second half but then we had a few individual mistakes and could not recover. We will keep working hard and be ready for Central Methodist University on Saturday.”
Next up: The Statesmen will have six days off before the #20 ranked Central Methodist Eagles come to town on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
