WICHITA — The William Penn men’s soccer season came to a crushing close Monday as it was defeated 1-0 by #4 seed Dalton State in the Round of 16 at the NAIA National Championship.
#13 seed WPU (12-5-4), which was making its first-ever trip to the Final Site, played even with the Roadrunners for nearly the entire matchup, but a goal with just 20 seconds remaining ended a historical campaign.
Due to cold weather and unplayable field conditions due to snow over the weekend, the Round of 16 was moved inside at the Stryker Sports Complex.
The first half was a defensive one with both sides posting just two shots each. DSU (14-2-3), which will now face #5 seed St. Thomas (Fla.) in the quarterfinals, then recorded the first four shots of the second period. The navy and gold answered with their best scoring opportunity as Edan Sears (Jr., Telford, England, Sports Management) was fouled in the box at the 53:59 mark.
The junior lined up for the penalty kick attempt, but unfortunately his shot was saved by the Roadrunner goalkeeper. It was his only shot of the afternoon, while the Statesmen managed seven overall, compared to 11 for Dalton State.
Emre Baris (Fr., Dortmund, Germany, Business Management) added a couple of tries later in the second stanza, but to no avail. The freshman would pace the offense with three shots total, headlined by two on goal.
With the contest still knotted in a scoreless tie in the waning minutes, the teams seemed destined for overtime. Unfortunately, in the final minute, DSU pressed forward and took a shot. Sean Bohan (Jr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) appeared to be in position for the save, but the ball was redirected by WPU defender and it went into the netting to make it 1-0 with just 20 ticks left.
Despite permitting 11 shots to the Roadrunners, the late goal was the only attempt that was on target against the stiff William Penn defense.
The Statesmen were unable to answer in the final seconds and the season came to abrupt close. It is the fifth-straight trip to nationals for William Penn and the second time that the Statesmen have won a game in the postseason.
“We are disappointed with how the game and season ended,” Head Coach Simon Brown said. “Missing a PK to go 1-0 up would have changed the game, but those are the fine margins when you play against the best. We are very proud of this group. We showed we belong here at this level; hopefully this experience galvanizes this group to want to play here annually. I would like to give a special thanks to our graduate students Lukas Koch, Joseph Kitengie, Ruben Martin, and Ezra Van Rooyen.”
