HASTINGS — The William Penn men’s soccer team posted the lone goal of the game in the opening moments and then stood tall the rest of the night in oppressive heat to knock off #22 Hastings 1-0 in non-conference action Wednesday.

WPU (2-0), which has opened the season with back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2009 (third time in program history), avenged a loss in its only other meeting with the Broncos–a heartbreaking penalty kick defeat in the 2019 NAIA Opening Round.

The visitors were outshot 14-11 overall, but they were the better side during the first 45 minutes, including posting an 8-4 edge in attempts.  After the squad’s first two tries came up empty, the Statesmen took a 1-0 lead when Emre Baris (Fr., Dortmund, Germany, Business Management) put a ball on frame.  His shot was unfortunately stopped by the HC goalkeeper, but the ball squirted away, right to the feet of Joseph Kitengie (Sr., Benoni, South Africa, Business Management) and he tapped it into the netting at the 6:09 mark.

That was the only score on an extremely hot evening where both teams went to their benches frequently for fresh bodies.  The Statesmen lost the shots on goal battle 4-3 to the Broncos (0-1), but refused to allow the equalizer.  Sean Bohan (Jr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) collected his second shutout in as many starts in the navy and gold, collecting three saves in the process.

Kitengie guided the offense with four shots, while Baris was next with three.

“We came out on fire and put them under a lot of pressure,” Head Coach Simon Brown said.  “We also had some guys make some big plays on defense.  It is great to get two clean sheets to start the season.  Hastings pushed us hard and showed that they are a strong opponent.  This was a really good win on the road and we are looking forward to playing another solid team on Saturday.”