Quick Start Gives Statesmen Win Over Grand View

Oskaloosa--William Penn's annual Penntoberfest celebration got off to a raucous start Wednesday night as the Statesmen men's soccer team scored two goals in the first five minutes of the game. The squad kept the lead throughout the game and went on to win 3-2 over rival Grand View in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (7-4, 4-3 Heart) outshot Grand View (3-5-3, 2-3-1 Heart) 15-10 over the course of the game. The shots on goal battle was also won by the Statesmen, 10-6.

Amped for the always-thrilling matchup against the Vikings, it took the navy and gold just 1:07 to get on the board as Chanin Olandin (So., Oslo Norway, Sports Management) took a ball and found the left corner of the net.

Maxime Eschemann (Fr., Saignelegier, Switzerland, Business Management), who scored two goals on the night, recorded his first off a cross from Milton Magana (Sr., Los Angeles Calif., Sociology) that he buried at the 4:08 mark.

WPU remained in control throughout the first half, but Grand View unfortunately captured momentum going into halftime as it scored with 25 seconds left to make it 2-1.

Eschemann continued his strong game with his second goal, outrunning the defensemen and getting past the goalie for a tally at the 53:26 mark.

The Vikings made it a close one again as they scored in the 68th minute. Fortunately, William Penn did just enough down the stretch, including fighting off numerous corner kicks and shots, to stay on top and secure the win.

"It was a great experience for our guys to play in front of so many supporters," Head Coach Simon Brown said. "Hopefully the fans enjoyed the game and will be back for our last two home regular season games."

Next up: William Penn will be back in action Saturday, traveling down to Olathe, Kan. to play MidAmerica Nazarene in another Heart conference game at 3:30 p.m.