OSKALOOSA — The William Penn men’s soccer team has its sights on advancing past the first weekend of nationals as it once again qualified for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
WPU (11-6-3) received an automatic bid (first time ever with an auto berth) and will travel to Mishawaka, Ind. to compete in the Mishawaka Bracket. The Statesmen, who won their first game ever at nationals in 2021 (1-3 all-time), are the #4 seed and will face #1 seed and host Bethel (Ind.) (19-1-1) on Thursday at 2 p.m. (Central)
The winner of that contest will then meet the winner of Thursday’s #2 seed Northwestern Ohio/#3 seed Hastings (Neb.) matchup on Saturday at 12 p.m. (Central) All games will be played at Morey Field.
There are 10 four-team Opening Round tournaments. The winner of each will advance to the Final Site in Decatur, Ala. from November 29-December 5.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast by Bethel (Ind.) HERE, while live stats will be available HERE
#1 Bethel (Ind.)
Thiago Pinto, in his 13th year, is leading the Pilots to nationals for the 11th time. Bethel, which is one of three representatives from the Crossroads League, earned an automatic bid to nationals via regular season and tournament titles.
Bethel tallied eight all-CL honors, including six first-teamers, while Tim Noeding (Player), Joao de Oliveira (Defensive), and Coach Pinto (Coach) all garnered top honors. Luan Bressy has a team-best 18 goals, while Finn Popescu is allowing just 0.80 goals per game.
The Pilots enter nationals on a 17-game winning streak. They have outscored opponents 63-16 this fall and have posted 10 shutouts. BU did not allow a goal during the CL Tournament.
#2 Northwestern Ohio
Tyler Brock, who is in his sixth year at UNOH, will be leading the Warriors to their sixth national tournament. The Racers (14-2-4) are one of three representatives from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
UNOH had six all-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference honorees, led by three first-teamers. Tomas Echevarria leads the team with 16 goals, while the Racers have split between three goalkeepers who are averaging less than one goal per contest.
UNOH, which had not lost in seven-straight games prior to a WHAC semifinal setback, has outscored its opposition 55-17. The Warriors have recorded seven shutouts this year.
#3 Hastings
Cole Poppen, in his second season, will be leading the Broncos to their 18th national tournament appearance. Hastings, which has won two national titles, is one of two teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference in the field.
Hastings (15-1-2) had eight players earn all-GPAC laurels, including GPAC Player of the Year David Panter and Defensive Player of the Year Brendan Dally. Panter heads the squad with 14 goals, while Poppen’s Goals Against Average is a paltry 0.65.
The Broncos, who earned an automatic bid by virtue of winning the GPAC regular season title, have outscored opponents 58-11 and have tallied 10 shutouts.
HC, which has not lost since September 7, fell by penalty kicks in the GPAC Finals.
#4 William Penn
Simon Brown, in his third season (current record of 36-23-3), is leading WPU to its fourth-straight trip to nationals (fourth all-time). The Statesmen are one of four programs from the Heart of America Athletic Conference to qualify for nationals (the Heart leads all conferences in qualifiers), earning their bid by finishing second in the Heart Tournament.
William Penn had three all-Heart performers, led by first-team selection Aaron Keita (Sr., Monrovia, Liberia, Computer Science). Chanin Olandin (So., Oslo, Norway, Sports Management) and Luigi Mongan (So., Manchester, England, Business Management) have guided the navy and gold offensively with six goals each.
The Statesmen have outscored their opposition 34-23 with goalkeeper Harry Nash (Sr., Basingstoke, England, Sports Management) posting a 7-3-2 record with a 1.06 Goals Allowed Average.
Entering the Heart Finals, WPU owned a streak of six games without a loss (4-0-2). The Statesmen are 3-2-1 against teams in the national tournament field.
Other nationals information is also available HERE
