Rozalen Scores Twice as WPU Snags Draw in Final Seconds

Oskaloosa--Jaime Rozalen (Fr., Valencia, Spain, Business Management) scored twice, including with just ticks left on the clock, as the Statesmen men's soccer team tied #6 MidAmerica Nazarene 2-2 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

In a battle between the two highest-ranked squads in the conference, #16 WPU (6-1-4, 1-0-3 Heart) ripped a victory away from the Pioneers as Rozalen scored a shocking goal with 14 seconds left in regulation.

The hosts, who outshot MNU 15-14 (10-8 in shots on goal), fell behind 1-0 in the 36th minute and continued to face a deficit until the 81:54 mark.

Lukas Koch (Sr., Moers, Germany, Master's of Sports Management) starting the scoring sequence as he dribbled around a defender and served a ball into the box.  It was flicked a few yards deeper by Mattijs McLaughlin (Fr., Sassenheim, Netherlands, Business Management).  The ball then settled to Rozalen's feet and he turned and delivered a beautiful strike into the near-post netting to tie the game at 1-1.

As time wound down, it appeared the teams were destined to tie with one goal apiece, but the Pioneers (6-0-4, 2-0-2 Heart) went back ahead with three minutes to go.

The navy and gold continued to battle and inside of the final minute, they produced one final challenge.  Edan Sears (Jr., Telford, England, Sports Management) threw the ball in to Joseph Kitengie (Sr., Benoni, South Africa, Master's of Organizational Leadership), who passed it right back.  The junior then tried a pass down the line, but it was not mis-hit and was seemingly headed out of play, allowing time to expire.

A strong southerly wind kept the ball in play and the English player must have placed a little English on it as it actually popped straight up.  Kitengie outleapt a group of players and headed it into the box where Rozalen was waiting.  The freshman volleyed it home and the Statesmen celebration ensued.

Rozalen paced the offense with five shots, including three on target, while Sears and Emre Baris (Fr., Dortmund, Germany, Business Management) both managed three shots.

Sean Bohan (Jr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) kept the Pioneers at bay for much of the afternoon as he notched six saves in the tie.

"We have shown tremendous character as a group in our first four conference games," Head Coach Simon Brown said.  "Finding results when most teams would give up is something that will come up huge at the end of the season.  We are banged up and guys stepped up when needed.  We need to bring this momentum into Wednesday's game against Central Methodist in a rematch of last year's Heart Final."

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa next Wednesday to face Central Methodist in Heart play at 7:30 p.m.