Posted: Dec 03, 2024
Statesmen Secure First-Ever Quarterfinal Spot with 3-1 Triumph Over Bethel
William Penn (IA)
(18-2-3, 8-2-1)
3
Bethel (IN)
(13-6-2, 5-4)
1
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
William Penn (IA) (18-2-3, 8-2-1) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|
Bethel (IN) (13-6-2, 5-4) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Wichita, Kan.--A relentless offensive display propelled the William Penn men's soccer team to a historic 3-1 victory over Bethel (Ind.) in the NAIA National Championship Round of 16 on Tuesday, securing the Statesmen's first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals.
In their sixth trip to nationals, the #3-seeded Statesmen (18-2-3) achieved a milestone for the program and now look ahead to a quarterfinals showdown with No. 6 Mobile (Ala.) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex. William Penn's only previous encounter with Mobile came in 2023, when the Statesmen dominated with a 4-0 regular season win.
The Statesmen opened the scoring in the 34th minute when John-Joe Mullane (Jr., Kent, England, Sports Management) capitalized on a deflection, launching a strike from outside the box that sailed past BU's goalkeeper.
However, Bethel (13-6-2) quickly responded, finding the equalizer just 10 minutes later.
William Penn regained the lead with 7:55 remaining in the first half. Timothy King (Jr., London, England, Biology) delivered a cross to Moses Magens (Grad., Elmshorn, Germany, Master's of Sport Management), who connected with a powerful header to make it 2-1.
Things got even better for the navy and gold a few seconds later when a red card forced the Pilots to play down a player.
Despite the advantage, the Statesmen faced significant pressure after halftime, being outshot 8-6 by the Pilots, but their defense held firm.
Magens finally sealed the victory in the 82nd minute, converting on a deflected shot for his second goal of the night.
Despite a 14-10 shot deficit for the match, William Penn's efficiency made the difference, with five of their 10 strikes on target. Magens, King, and Connor O'Reilly (Sr., Letterkenny, Ireland, General Accounting) led the offense with two shots apiece. Mullane, Conor Keylock (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Sports Management), Albert Fexias (So., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science), and Miguel Menendez (So., Oviedo, Spain, Wellness and Recreation) also contributed one attempt each.
Sean Bohan (Sr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) held Bethel to just the one score as he recorded three saves between the pipes.
"It was a big goal, not just for myself but for the team, to settle the nerves playing in such a huge game against a great side," said Mullane. "Getting the ball rolling and allowing us to be our best, we proved we can be a big problem."
"We knew these games were going to be tough, and we fought as a team and dug deep. This means so much to all of us. We've worked so hard this entire season, and it feels great to get this first win at the final site, but we are not done yet," said Magens. "We are hungry for more! Personally, I'm very thankful that I was able to contribute with two goals today. I haven't scored in a while, which makes it even sweeter at this stage! All that matters is that we won and made it to the next round as a team."
"I am proud of the lads to come here against a quality team full of mature seniors. When playing these top teams, they are going to have a lot of possession, and we reacted well to them scoring. They had another big chance after, and we didn't crumble. In the second half, we set up a little more defensively and tried to catch them on the counter. We did that with a couple of minutes to go to make it 3-1," said Head Coach Simon Brown. "I'm happy to take this team and these guys to the elite eight, and we're looking forward to Thursday's game. We appreciate everybody's support back home. Thank you."
In their sixth trip to nationals, the #3-seeded Statesmen (18-2-3) achieved a milestone for the program and now look ahead to a quarterfinals showdown with No. 6 Mobile (Ala.) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex. William Penn's only previous encounter with Mobile came in 2023, when the Statesmen dominated with a 4-0 regular season win.
The Statesmen opened the scoring in the 34th minute when John-Joe Mullane (Jr., Kent, England, Sports Management) capitalized on a deflection, launching a strike from outside the box that sailed past BU's goalkeeper.
However, Bethel (13-6-2) quickly responded, finding the equalizer just 10 minutes later.
William Penn regained the lead with 7:55 remaining in the first half. Timothy King (Jr., London, England, Biology) delivered a cross to Moses Magens (Grad., Elmshorn, Germany, Master's of Sport Management), who connected with a powerful header to make it 2-1.
Things got even better for the navy and gold a few seconds later when a red card forced the Pilots to play down a player.
Despite the advantage, the Statesmen faced significant pressure after halftime, being outshot 8-6 by the Pilots, but their defense held firm.
Magens finally sealed the victory in the 82nd minute, converting on a deflected shot for his second goal of the night.
Despite a 14-10 shot deficit for the match, William Penn's efficiency made the difference, with five of their 10 strikes on target. Magens, King, and Connor O'Reilly (Sr., Letterkenny, Ireland, General Accounting) led the offense with two shots apiece. Mullane, Conor Keylock (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Sports Management), Albert Fexias (So., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science), and Miguel Menendez (So., Oviedo, Spain, Wellness and Recreation) also contributed one attempt each.
Sean Bohan (Sr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) held Bethel to just the one score as he recorded three saves between the pipes.
"It was a big goal, not just for myself but for the team, to settle the nerves playing in such a huge game against a great side," said Mullane. "Getting the ball rolling and allowing us to be our best, we proved we can be a big problem."
"We knew these games were going to be tough, and we fought as a team and dug deep. This means so much to all of us. We've worked so hard this entire season, and it feels great to get this first win at the final site, but we are not done yet," said Magens. "We are hungry for more! Personally, I'm very thankful that I was able to contribute with two goals today. I haven't scored in a while, which makes it even sweeter at this stage! All that matters is that we won and made it to the next round as a team."
"I am proud of the lads to come here against a quality team full of mature seniors. When playing these top teams, they are going to have a lot of possession, and we reacted well to them scoring. They had another big chance after, and we didn't crumble. In the second half, we set up a little more defensively and tried to catch them on the counter. We did that with a couple of minutes to go to make it 3-1," said Head Coach Simon Brown. "I'm happy to take this team and these guys to the elite eight, and we're looking forward to Thursday's game. We appreciate everybody's support back home. Thank you."
