Winning Streak Pushed to Six, Statesmen Take Down Wildcats
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s soccer team continued their recent hot streak with a 5-1 victory over the Culver-Stockton Wildcats.
The Statesmen improve to 11-6 overall and 7-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Heavy pressure was applied early on by the William Penn offense, as they nearly had a first minute score that was nullified by offsides. That near miss was a sign of things to come, however, as just a few minutes later Kenedy Deviska (Sr., Pignon, Haiti, Wellness and Recreation) got the Statesmen on the board. His seventh goal of the year came just seven minutes into the game, but the early scoring was not finished. Less than a minute later, Gianmarco Centrella (Jr., Rome, Italy, Sports Management) took a touch from Aidan Twohig (Jr., Middlesbrough, England, Sports Management) and drove it home for his team leading 11th goal of the year, extending the lead to 2-0 before 10 minutes had passed.
The Statesmen dominated the possession game for the entire first half, and even though the Statesmen could not add further to their lead, they completely eliminated the Wildcat attackers in the first 45, out-shooting Culver-Stockton 14-0 as they entered the break. William Penn was taking good looks too, as nine of their 14 shots came on goal.
The second half brought more of the same for the Statesmen, as they ripped off four shots in the first five minutes, three of which forced saves from the Culver-Stockton keeper. The score remained at 2-0 until Deviska got involved again. He worked his way down the sideline and sent a high cross into the box, above the heads of the defenders until it found its way to Luke Andrews (Sr., Andover, England, Sports Management), who headed it home for a 3-0 lead.
With the opportunities being generated, the offense continued to have plenty of opportunities to score. The Statesmen were firing on all cylinders, and it was never more apparent than during their fourth goal of the game. Shalon Knight (So., Swetes Village, Antigua and Barbuda) received a pass and took the ball down the left wing, then dished it out to Luigi Mongan (Fr., Manchester, England, Sports Management) Mongan sent it back to Knight, who sent it into the box. Waiting for it was Centrella, but as the defense converged, Centrella let the ball go right through the wickets to the awaiting Chanin Olandin (Fr., Oslo, Norway, Sports Management), who took advantage of the opening and drove the ball into the top of the net for the team’s fourth goal of the evening.
The Wildcats got one back, but Jaime Arcila (Sr., Cartagena, Columbia) scored with 45 seconds to go to give the Statesmen their winning margin of 5-1.
What’s Next: The Statesmen will have their senior day festivities on Saturday with a matchup against the Evangel Valor. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 PM.
