Walsh-Rowe’s Clean Sheet Leads Statesmen in Stalemate

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's soccer team battled hard but came up empty on the scoreboard, settling for a 0-0 draw with Ottawa in non-conference action Saturday.

No. 2 WPU (1-1-1) dictated much of the match, outshooting the Braves (1-0-2) 18-10. The Statesmen placed five attempts on target compared to Ottawa's two.

They maintained control early with a 7-3 shot advantage in the first half.

The navy and gold continued to push after halftime, adding 11 more shots, but could not break through. Ottawa, meanwhile, was also denied on seven second-half attempts

Nine different Statesmen registered shots. John-Joe Mullane (Sr., Kent, England, Sports Management) led the way with four, followed by Matias Meijide (Grad., Brunete, Spain, Master's of Organizational Leadership) with three. Santiago Ruiz Haro (Grad., Mexico City, Mexico, Master's of Sport Management), Albert Feixas (So., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science), Angel Valdez (So., Mexicali, Mexico, Nursing), and Hector Bastos (Fr., Vitoria, Brazil, Computer Science) each contributed two shots.

Senior goalkeeper Ryan Walsh-Rowe (Wexford, Ireland, Business Management) anchored the defense with his second clean sheet of the year, turning away both Ottawa efforts.

"Every single person did their job. I am so proud of them today for sticking together in moments where it's easy to point fingers and blame each other. That's all I have been asking," said Head Coach Joe Minton. "Goals will come. We are due for an explosion. We'll get that soon enough, but I am really proud of what I saw on the field."

Next Up: The Statesmen host Trinity Christian at 1:00 p.m. next Monday at Drost Field.