Statesmen Rally Past Pioneers
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s soccer team did just enough Saturday to collect yet another Heart of America Athletic Conference victory, dropping league foe MidAmerica Nazarene 2-1.
WPU (11-3, 6-1 Heart), which has now won three in a row and nine of its last 10, outshot MNU (5-6-2, 3-2-2 Heart) by a 13-4 margin, including an 8-1 mark in the second half.
Not that any Heart men’s soccer program can be overlooked, but the remainder of the Statesmen schedule is on the easier side as all four opponents are .500 or below in league play (two are winless).
On a day that was featured by windy conditions, the Pioneers took advantage of the gusts to their back and scored first in the 22nd minute.
Six minutes later, Bernardo Lima (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Exercise Science) was tackled in the box, awarding the Statesmen a penalty kick. As he has done all year (now 5-for-5), Eduardo Bonatto (Sr., Rio Grande, Brazil, Business Management), despite going into the wind, then found the netting to knot the score. The senior, who now leads WPU with 11 goals, posted a game-high four shots in the victory.
Still 1-1 midway through the second half, WPU took the lead for good as Luis Amezquita (Sr., Inglewood, Calif., Sociology) headed home a throw-in by Donny Mesina (Sr., Inglewood, Calif., Sports Management) at the 69:02 mark. Amezquita’s goal is his third, while Mesina now has five assists this season.
For the second-consecutive game, Austin Munoz (Sr., Harrisville, Utah, Sports Management) did not need to tally a save to capture the win.
“This was an important win for our guys,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “MNU is a very good team and I thought we dealt with its attack very well. We started the game a little slow; I think we maybe felt the effects of playing four games in seven days. Our second half, though, was much better and we showed real character to win.”
“We moved the ball better in the second half and played with more intensity,” Highcock added. “We are looking forward to the rest of the season and taking it game by game.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Dubuque next Wednesday to face Clarke in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.
