Statesmen Shut Out Park, Advance to Semifinals

Oskaloosa--The No. 16 William Penn men's soccer team powered past Park with a 3-0 shutout in the Heart Championship Quarterfinals Tuesday.

The fourth-seeded Statesmen (10-4-4) advance to face top-seeded Baker in the Heart Championship Semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m. in Baldwin City, Kan.

William Penn controlled the pace from the opening whistle, outshooting the fifth-seeded Pirates (7-9-2) 20-7 overall and 12-3 in shots on goal.

The Statesmen struck early when Angel Valdez (So., Mexicali, Mexico, Nursing) buried a free kick past the keeper at the 6:21 mark.

Fifteen minutes later, Matias Meijide (Grad., Brunete, Spain, Organizational Leadership) delivered a pinpoint pass to John-Joe Mullane (Sr., Kent, England, Sports Management), who finished clinically to double the lead.

Mullane added his second in the 30th minute, capitalizing on a deflection off a Park defender following a corner kick from Valdez.

The Navy and Gold dominated the opening half, owning a 12-2 shot advantage, while the second half was more balanced. Both defenses held firm after halftime as the Statesmen secured the clean sheet.

Albert Feixas (Jr., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science) and Caleb Wright (Fr., Hitchin, England, Sports Management) led the attack with four shots each, while Mullane and Valdez tallied three apiece.

In goal, Lewis McNab (Fr., Weymouth, England, Business Management) posted three saves to earn the shutout.

"It [the clean sheet] shows the resilience of this team. We play through one another, and I think that is the most important thing. What we want to do is get back to the top and take the conference tournament," said Captain Mullane. "I think our momentum is so important. We need to take more from the first and second half, but the momentum is the most important."

"I saw the chance and took it. I felt confident in myself, and it helped the team," said Valdez. "The good form is really important. We are working on being tougher and taking the chances. We felt like we were better in this game."

"First half, we were incredible. We were all over them, we won all contact, the game plan worked, and we were getting in behind. Angel scored a brilliant free kick and then JJ scored two really good goals," said Head Coach Joe Minton. "We have done enough to win today, but going into Baker is going to be harder to get chances. Baker is a really tough, but the tournament is ours to defend, and we want to defend it next year."

Up Next: The Statesmen travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to face top-seeded Baker in the Heart Championship Semifinals Friday at 6 p.m.