Statesmen Rout Clarke 7-0

Oskaloosa–An absolutely dominant performance for the William Penn men’s soccer team saw take Clarke to the cleaner as the Statesmen put together a full 90 minute display and win 7-0. From start to finish, WPU was all over the Pride as the team improves to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in Heat of America Athletic Conference play.

Winners of the past six against Clarke, William Penn did not want to slip against a team that did not get a conference win last year. They certainly did not fall for the trap as it took all of a minute for Luke Andrews (Jr., Andover, England) to whip the first shot of the game just wide after a foul by Clarke. Milton Magana (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) then had one blocked as did Kenedy Deviska (Jr., Pignon, Haiti, Wellness and Recreation) a minute later.

Clarke got their only shots of the game away over the next two minutes as Rafael Martins (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) got the nod, but did not have to make a save all game. The Statesmen continued to press high up the pitch, forcing Clarke into errors in the first half as the group controlled the field. Most of the action went towards the goal the Statesmen were attacking and they finally got on the board in the 13th minute. Magana put the ball on a dime for the late-arriving Edgar Tavares (Jr., Everett, Wash.) at the back post to make it 1-0. Yet that just seemed to make the navy and gold even hungrier for goals.

Shot after shot piled up as Jan Paule did all he could to limit the damage for the Pride. On the Statesmen pushed and they were rewarded again in the 23rd minute as Deviska got the service he wanted and slotted into the back of the net.

In the 36th minute, the Statesmen would make it 3-0 as a foul brought down Lukas Koch (So., Moers, Germany, Sports Management) in the box. Sagar Bhattarai (Jr., Columbus, Ohio) strolled up and converted his penalty-kick chance for the second game in a row. With the home faithful entertained through 45 minutes, the numbers for WPU were outstanding. The navy and gold had 24 shots with 10 on target in the first half, while they also controlled the possession, area of play, and the corner-kick count (8-0).

The second half saw Clarke come out to a better start, but traffic was soon going back the other way. Just six minutes in, Hevany Motta (Jr., Santo Antao, Cape Verde) was sent chasing down the right wing. He sent one back to an open Deviska who took a touch and used his left foot to put it in far post. Up 4-0, Deviska almost got a hat trick on a couple more opportunities, but missed out on his third.

Just after the hour mark, it was Motta who got the ball at the top of the box from Bhattarai. He took a couple strides and opened up his right foot to punch in his first goal as a Statesmen to the far post.

The second half moved along as the navy and gold continued to attack in waves. With more subs getting time off the bench and wanting to impress, the team did not let up. With eight minutes to go, Cranston McDonald (So., Naples, Fla., Biology) got his first career goal. Koch took a long shot that the goalie parried, but it fell to McDonald who bent it right back into the net. Just 90 seconds later, he collected his first assist. He arched a gorgeous ball that found an in-stride Koch at the back post, who kicked it in on the volley to complete the scoring for William Penn.

With seven goals on the board, the final stats were staggering as 39 shots were taken and 19 hit the mark for WPU. The team had a 12-1 edge in the corner-kick department and it did not give up a shot in the second half. Andrews had a team-high five shots to tie Deviska. Nick Serrano (Jr., Inglewood, Calif.), Bhattarai, and Motta each had four, while only three field players did not record a shot.

“The boys showed up and took care of business tonight,” said Head Coach Simon Brown. “They had the result to match the performance. It was great to see a lot of guys get their first goals tonight, which should hopefully inspire some extra confidence in the squad.”

Next Up: The Statesmen will hit the road on Saturday to take on the Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene at 3:30 p.m.