Offense Fails to Click Against Benedictine

Atchison, Kan.--The William Penn men's soccer team continued their offensive struggles on the road on Saturday as they fell to the Benedictine Ravens 2-0.

The loss moves the team's record to 1-4 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play, while dropping to 5-6 overall.

There was not much to be had in the way of offense in the early goings, with the first shot not coming until over 13 minutes into the game. They put up one more shot later, this one on goal, but the Statesmen were able to knock it away.

With their third attempt, the hosts were able to put one home as they took the early advantage over the Statesmen just over 20 minutes in.

The first shot for William Penn did not come for over 21 minutes, as Aaron Keita (Sr., Monrovia, Liberia, Computer Science) fired their only shot of the first half wide. The Statesmen entered halftime with only one shot attempt, their lowest of any first half this season.

The second half did not offer much solace on offense, as the Statesmen continued to struggle putting shots on goal. Axxel Chazaro-Lara (Jr., Kansas City, Mo.) took the first shot of the half but fired it wide.

Almost 25 minutes into the second half, Hugo Lorenzo (So., Madrid, Spain, Mechanical Engineering) finally put a shot on goal, but it was saved by the Benedictine keeper. Just a few minutes later, unfortunately, the Ravens added to their lead with a 73rd minute strike, doubling their advantage to 2-0.

The Statesmen started to get their offensive feel back, putting some more shots on target, but could not get any to go. They had a golden opportunity in the 85th minute to cut into the lead late, but a Sagar Bhattarai (Sr., Columbus, Ohio, Information Systems) penalty kick missed wide, and the Ravens took the shutout victory 2-0.

The Statesmen outshot the Ravens for the game 9-7, and took the same amount of shots on goal with three. Unfortunately, they just could not find the back of the net, as the Benedictine keeper made three saves. Harry Nash (Jr., Basingstoke, England, Sports Management) received the start and had a save on Saturday.

"We need to come together as a team real quick if we are to salvage anything from the season," said Head Coach Simon Brown. "There is a bit of a disconnect which is hurting performance."

What's Next: The Statesmen will look to right the ship on Wednesday as they travel to Dubuque for a road matchup with the Clarke Pride. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 PM.