Statesmen Drop League Opener to Mount Mercy 2-1
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Cedar Rapids–The William Penn women’s soccer team swallowed a difficult pill Saturday in starting Midwest Collegiate Conference play with a 2-1 loss to Mount Mercy.
The Statesmen (5-6, 0-1 MCC) nearly doubled up the Mustangs (3-7, 1-0 MCC) in shots, 17-9, but failed to convert that into a victory on a rainy, cool day.
Following a first half that saw both teams go scoreless, the hosts finally got on the board in the 52nd minute with a Danielle Herdliska goal.
The navy and gold knotted the contest just over ten minutes later. Alyce Correia (Fr., Perth, Australia, Elementary Education) put a nice touch on a free kick from Jaymie Padilla (Jr., Mesa, Ariz., Physical Education) at the 62:06 mark. Correia, who led all players with four shots, now tops WPU with six goals this fall, while the assist is the second for Padilla this year.
Unfortunately, Mount Mercy had the last say in the matter when Herdliska scored her second goal with 5:52 left in the matchup.
Laura Gentry (Sr., Fruitland, Idaho, Physical Education) posted four saves in the loss.
“Injuries and the weather did not help us today but we cannot use them as excuses as to why we lost today,” Head Coach Willie McGowan said. “We controlled the majority of the game and created a number of dangerous opportunities in and around the box, but failed to capitalize with goals.”
“Due to the weather conditions, it was always going to come down to a few little things,” McGowan added. “We unfortunately allowed two goals on set pieces which was a little disappointing as our defense has done so well with those recently. We will look to bounce back as much as we can before facing a very tough opponent in Viterbo.”
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Friday to host Viterbo in MCC action at 5 p.m.
