Statesmen Triumph Over Braves with Feixas’ Two Goals

Ottawa, Kan.--The William Penn men's soccer team imposed its will over Ottawa (Kan.) Saturday as it claimed a 3-1 non-conference victory.

#16 WPU (2-0) outshot the Braves 22-7, including posting 12 attempts and five corner kicks in the first half.  Ottawa (0-1), on the other hand, was limited to just one shot in the first 45 minutes.

The visitors were denied for much of the opening period, but Albert Feixas (Fr., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science) finally broke the scoreless tie by putting away a pass from Miguel Menendez (So., Oveido, Spain, Wellness and Recreation) in the 28th minute.

OU got right back into the game, though, scoring its lone goal in the 47th minute.  The second half was a tighter battle statistically with the Statesmen only posting a 10-6 edge in shots, but fortunately, 13 minutes after the Braves tied the score, Feixas and Menendez again hooked up with Feixas finding the back of the net at the 59:59 mark.

The navy and gold were then gifted a one-man advantage due a red card being issued to Ottawa.  With the edge, William Penn created numerous shots and eventually put the game out of reach when Hugo Cornish (So., Sydney, Australia, Business Management) scored to make it 3-1.  Moses Magens (Grad., Elmshorn, Germany, Master's of Sports Management) was credited with the assist.

Kevin Onelius (So., Soderhamn, Sweden, Psychology) and his defense kept it at a two-goal margin the remainder of the way as the Statesmen stayed perfect in 2024.  Onelius finished with two saves in the victory.

Feixas topped the WPU offense with six shots, while Edan Sears (Sr., Telford, England, Sports Management) finished with five attempts and Menendez shot four times.

"Ottawa is a top team that qualified for nationals last year and will be in the mix to be one of the best teams in our region at the end of this season," Head Coach Simon Brown said.  "We wanted to challenge ourselves on the road with a game like this."

"We controlled the first half, but did not have a lot to show for it," Brown added.  "When you allow a team like Ottawa to hang around, they will punish you, but fortunately we battled back and came out on top.  We look forward to another test at Waldorf."

Next Up: William Penn takes on Waldorf in Forest City next Tuesday in non-conference action at 7 p.m.