King’s Early Goal Leads Statesmen to Quarterfinal Triumph

Wichita, Kan.--Timothy King's (Jr., London, England, Biology) first-half strike thrust the William Penn men's soccer team to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mobile (Ala.) in the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinals on Thursday. The win marks a historic milestone, as the Statesmen advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history.

In a season filled with record-breaking moments, the third-seeded Statesmen (19-2-3) added another achievement to their impressive campaign by dropping Mobile (18-4-1). 

They now set their sights on a semifinal clash against No. 10 William Carey (Miss.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex. The matchup serves as a rematch of their only prior meeting in 2023, which saw William Penn fall in a 3-0 regular-season defeat.

King delivered the game's decisive goal in the 26th minute, powering a precise strike that grazed the fingertips of the Mobile goalkeeper before finding the back of the net.

Both teams managed three shots apiece in a balanced first half, but the second half saw the Statesmen under heavy fire from the Rams' attack. Mobile outshot William Penn 5-2 after the break, but the Statesmen defense, anchored by a standout performance from goalkeeper Sean Bohan (Sr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management), held firm. Bohan recorded four saves en route to his eighth clean sheet of the year.
 
While Mobile posted an 8-5 overall shot advantage, William Penn made the most of its opportunities, capitalizing on one of just two shots on target. King and John-Joe Mullane (Jr., Kent, England, Sports Management) led the offensive effort with one shot on goal, while Hugo Cornish (So., Sydney, Australia, Business Management) and Sven Hennenberg (Fr., Detmold, Germany, Sports Management) each registered a shot as well.

"It's been a hard season individually, battling illness and injury, so to be able to help the team in such an important game means a lot to me," said King. "I was happy to get on the scoresheet, and the lads dug deep to hold on until the end, so it was a great performance from everyone to make it to the final four and make program history again - something I'm very grateful to be a part of."

"It means a lot to me. This group has built a brilliant bond over the last few months, and it's eight clean sheets for us all, not just me.," said Bohan. "The win means everything to me, and I couldn't have asked to be a part of a better group! Hopefully, it's not the last win we have at this tournament!"

"I am immensely proud of all of the guys we have here for achieving something incredible, which is making a final four game. Not only do we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country, and we won a Heart of America tournament, but we can compete with the best teams in the country on a national scale. To take this program to a final site was something we dreamed of years ago, but now we're in the final four and one game away from competing in a national championship," said Head Coach Simon Brown. "We have a lot of work to do to recover, get healthy, and come up with a new game plan in a short amount of time. The guys are up for the challenge. We are excited to be here, excited to represent William Penn, and excited to compete in the semifinals on Saturday. Appreciate everybody's support back home, and hopefully, everyone can tune in and keep sending messages to the guys. I know that they appreciate all of the support they get from back home, too."