OSKALOOSA — For the fifth year in a row, the William Penn men’s soccer team has earned a postseason bid, and for the second time ever, it will host a game as it returns to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round presented by Select Sport America.
WPU (11-4-4), which received an at-large bid, not only earned the #13 overall seed, but also a bye in the first round. The navy and gold will remain in Oskaloosa, hosting unseeded Cumberlands (Ky.) Saturday at Drost Field at 2 p.m. The Statesmen are 1-4 all-time at nationals.
The Opening Round has taken on a different look this year with 40 total teams receiving berths. The top eight seeds host three-team brackets (games on Thursday and Saturday), while Seeds 9-16 host a single contest on Saturday. The 16 bracket winners will then advance to the Final Site in Wichita, Kan. from November 27-December 4.
The game will be the first between William Penn and Cumberlands in men’s soccer. Both teams have been to nationals five times in their history and both are making their fifth-straight trips to the postseason.
#13 William Penn
Simon Brown is in his fourth season with a current record of 47-28-7. WPU is one of three representatives from the Heart of America Athletic Conference in the 40-team nationals field.
William Penn had four all-Heart performers, paced by first-team honorees Sean Bohan (Jr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) and Edan Sears (Jr., Telford, England, Sports Management). Despite being a defender, Sears leads the squad in goals with six.
The Statesmen have doubled up their foes in scoring at 38-19 with Bohan owning a 1.02 Goals Allowed Average and eight shutouts.
William Penn, which went eight games without losing a game at one stretch this fall, enters nationals with two consecutive losses. The Statesmen are 3-2-1 against teams heading to the Opening Round.
Cumberlands
Chris LeFevre is in his eighth season with a current record of 73-49-26. UC, which was ranked all season, is one of four squads from the Mid-South Conference at nationals.
Cumberlands claimed six all-conference awards, including four on the first team. The Patriots have outscored opponents 30-21 and have posted one shutout. Salvador Martinez leads the squad with 11 goals, while Brandon Diaz has a 1.43 Goals Against Average.
UC is battle tested with seven contests coming against teams ranked or receiving votes at the time (3-1-3 record in those games). Cumberlands went through a stretch of seven games earlier in the year without a loss.
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