WPU Locks Up #2 Seed for Tourney by Blanking Rival Vikings

Des Moines--The Statesmen men's soccer team put up another clean sheet as it shut out rival Grand View 2-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Tuesday.

With its win, William Penn (11-2-4, 6-1-3 Heart) has secured the #2 seed for the Heart Tournament which starts next Friday, November 3.  The Statesmen match the 2019 squad as the highest conference regular season finishers in program history.

The visitors, who narrowly outshot GVU 9-8 in the defensive battle, got on the board early when Miguel Menendez (Fr., Oveido, Spain, Wellness and Recreation) collected a loose ball in front of the goal and struck it home at the 7:30 mark.

As with any rivalry game, the contest was filled with physicality, including a plethora of fouls (28 total) and cards (13 total).

It was not until the 63rd minute that the Statesmen finally added an insurance goal as Emre Baris (Fr., Dortmund, Germany, Business Management) scored off a pass from Menendez at the 62:33 juncture.

Baris and Edan Sears (Jr., Telford, England, Sports Management) both tallied three shots, while Sean Bohan (Jr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) produced two saves for his eighth shutout of the fall.  Overall, the navy and gold have now recorded nine shutouts this season.

"We knew that Grand View was fighting for its playoff life, so we wanted to take the sting out of the game quickly," Head Coach Simon Brown said.  "We went up early and got momentum on our side.  Our back line stayed solid the whole game.  With everything they threw at us, we are happy with the clean sheet."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Parkville, Mo. Saturday for its regular season finale as it faces Park in Heart play at 2:30 p.m.