Statesmen Conclude Historic Season at Nationals Opening Round

Fort Wayne, Ind.– The William Penn men’s soccer team saw their run at nationals come to an end on Saturday as they fell to the #9 Indiana Tech Warriors 2-0.

Gianmarco Centrella (Jr., Rome, Italy, Sports Management) got the action going early with the first attempt on goal, but it sailed wide left. Unfortunately, it did not take much time for the hosts to strike back, as they moved quickly up the pitch and scored only five and a half minutes into the game.

The Statesmen, who battled back from an early deficit on Thursday, were quick to try to counter, but did not get their shots on target early on. Tiago Ravagni (Jr., Buenos Aires, Argentina, Industrial Technology) had the first shot on goal, but it was saved by the Warriors’ keeper.

The offense continued to rattle off shots, but only one of them found its mark as Hugo Lorenzo (So., Madrid, Spain, Mechanical Engineering) had a shot saved at the 30 minute mark of the contest. The Statesmen entered the halftime break trailing by that same 1-0 margin.

Both offenses struggled to create chances, with the Warriors holding a 7-6 shot advantage over William Penn. Indiana Tech was also afforded more opportunities on set pieces, as the Statesmen committed 13 fouls and gave up three corner kicks.

The Warriors tried to add on early in the second half, but the shot was knocked away by Harry Nash (Jr., Basingstoke, England, Sports Management).

The Statesmen struggled to get the offense on track in the second half, and unfortunately ceded another goal to the Warriors as they doubled their lead to 2-0.

The navy and gold had a couple of set piece opportunities, one of which resulted in a shot from Chanin Olandin (Fr., Oslo, Norway, Sports Management), but it sailed high. Luke Andrews (Sr., Andover, England, Sports Management) had a shot at goal, taking a header to try to cut into the lead, but the shot was saved. The Statesmen were only able to get one more shot in the final 10 minutes as Indiana Tech closed out their 2-0 win.

“While it is disappointing to end our season today, we still have a lot to be proud of,” said Head Coach, Simon Brown. “We have a lot to build on for next year, and with a large part of this roster returning for 2022 we have a lot more we want to achieve after tasting success in the national tournament. We want to thank the seniors that have been here from the bad times to the good times, and really turned this program around into one that is respected both in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and nationally.”

Season in Review: The Statesmen conclude the 2021 campaign with an overall record of 13-8, a mark that included an 8-4 mark in the Heart, a program record tying six consecutive wins, and five wins against teams ranked in the top 25.