Win Record Broken in Dominating Fashion
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s soccer team did not simply set a new single-season wins record, but did it with gusto as it pounded Faith Baptist Bible 9-0 in non-conference action Tuesday.
The program’s 16-year-old record of 11 wins finally saw its demise, and the best part is, WPU (12-3) still has three games left in the regular season to do even more damage to the record books.
The navy and gold poured it on the Eagles (6-6-1) to the tune of a 42-0 edge in shots. William Penn’s nine goals are the second-most in school history as is the nine-goal margin of victory.
As might be expected in a contest like this, numerous unsung heroes had their day in the sun with six different Statesmen tallying a goal, including four who did so for the first time this season.
Enrico Baldon (Fr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Kinesiology & Exercise Science) started things off with an unassisted score in the fifth minute.
Then it quickly became all about Shalon Knight (Fr., Swetes Village, Antigua). The freshman doubled the advantage at the 11:35 mark unassisted, made it 3-0 with Baldon’s help in the 20th minute, and finally concluded the first-half scoring with another unassisted goal at 41:33.
The hat trick is the first of the campaign for any Statesmen player.
The second period opened in an ominous way for FBB as a ball kicked from the backline to the goalkeeper was not secured and an own goal made it 5-0 in the 56th minute.
Moussa Ndiaye (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management), with an assist from Johann Derrick (Fr., Hattan, Antigua and Barbuda, Biology), got the navy and gold to the half-dozen mark with 27:24 remaining in regulation.
Celestino Perez (Fr., Lansing, Kan., Undecided) then assisted on a score by Steve Avelar (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif., Sociology) less than seven minutes later.
Unassisted goals from Matt Devereux (So., Andover, England, Business Management) and Jorge Vega (So., Albertville, Ala., General Accounting & Business Management) in the 78th and 82nd minutes, respectively, wrapped things up at Drost Field.
“The aim from the start of the season was to be the best team in school history and we accomplished that tonight,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said. “Twelve wins in the hardest conference in the NAIA is a fantastic achievement! We gained national recognition earlier today and we want to continue to build on that success. We head into the MidAmerica Nazarene contest full of confidence and looking to get a big road win.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Olathe, Kan. Saturday to face #15 MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at 3:30 p.m.
