Statesmen Post Fifth-Straight Shutout
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Springfield, Mo.–The 2018 version of William Penn men’s soccer is putting up numbers. Well, mainly just one number–the number zero–as again it blanked a foe, shutting out Evangel 5-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Saturday.
The Statesmen (7-1), who continue their best start in program history, extended their school-record shutout streak to five. During that stretch, WPU has outscored the opposition 12-0.
The squad’s season-high five goals also helped WPU tie its school record for consecutive wins at six.
William Penn, which has only permitted four goals in eight contests this fall, jumped on top of the Crusaders (0-6-2, 0-2 Heart) early. Bernardo Lima (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Exercise Science) opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 12:39 mark.
Kenedy Deviska (Fr., Haiti, Wellness and Recreation) doubled the advantage in the 28th minute with the assist credited to Luis Amezquita (Jr., Inglewood, Calif., Sociology). Deviska now has three goals this year, while Amezquita’s assist is his first of the campaign.
WPU was then awarded even more help when Evangel lost a player to a red card late in the first half. That set the floodgates to ‘open’ status and the visitors tacked on three more scores after intermission.
Lima (unassisted) scored in the 62nd minute, the Crusaders helped again with an own goal in the 77th minute, and Victor Hernandez (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif., Exercise Science) (unassisted) capped the day’s events with a tally in the 84th minute. The goals for Lima are his first in the navy and gold, while Hernandez upped his tally to a team-high four.
When the final horn sounded, the Statesmen held a 23-6 advantage in shots, paced by Eduardo Bonatto (So., Rio Grande, Brazil, Business Management) with five. Miguel Barbosa (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sport Management) notched his sixth shutout of the fall with one save.
“This was a nice road win for our program,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “We posted another clean sheet and the guys are playing with full confidence right now; it is a joy to watch them out there. Six shutouts in eight games is definitely something we can build upon. We are going into the Missouri Valley game really confident and look forward to working hard and putting on a strong performance.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Wednesday to host #6 Missouri Valley in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.
