FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University men's soccer team is set to finish the 2014 regular season with a big game against No. 8-ranked Missouri Valley College Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Prior to the game, the team will be honoring their six seniors:
Alan Matthew,
Sebastian Burich,
Daniel Paez,
Jacob Hawes,
Paulo Conelian and
Luca Stroeter.
The Owls (11-4-2; 6-3-1 AMC) are coming off a 2-0 victory against Freed-Hardeman University in the AMC finale on Thursday night. WWU outshot the Lions 14-8 in the game and showcased their dominance on both offense and defense.
Given six shot attempts in the first 15 minutes of play, the Owls were able to score off the foot of
Lendell Louis-Jacques to give WWU a 1-0 lead at the 27:17 mark of play. The Lions, meanwhile, were limited to only one shot attempt in the first period.
The second half was much more up-tempo, as Freed-Hardeman outshot WWU 7-6. However, due to the defensive efforts of
Conor Cable, the Lions were still unable to find a way to get on the board. The Owls second goal of the night came in the 74
th minute of play, as
Sebastian Burich was able to score his third goal of the season unassisted.
On the season, the team is led by the duo of Hawes and
Alex Severino, as they have each totaled six goals, while Hawes has added four assists, for a team-high 16 points. Conelian, has a team-high eight assists on the year and has added two goals, while fellow senior Stroeter, has dished out six assists.
In net, Cable has started in 14 games, allowing just 10 goals, made 67 saves for a save percentage of .870 and owns a goals against average of .660.
The six graduating seniors have had a major part in the Owls success this year, as the group has combined for 17 goals and 20 assists on the season.
Matthew, a Glascow, Scotland native has been with WWU since 2011, and has been a major part in the soccer program since he arrived. Matthew has started every men's soccer game in the past four years besides one—he has started all 17 games this season and has nine goals in his career, with four coming from this season. He has been named to the all-AMC Honorbale mention twice and AMC first-team coming in 2013.
Burich, a Santiago, Chile, native, has been with the Owls since 2012 and has put up a career 13 goals and 10 assists at WWU.
Hailing from Bogota, Colombia, Paez transferred from MidAmerican Nazarene in 2012. He has six shots in his career at WWU, including one goal.
Hawes has seen action in all four years he has been with the Owl's program. The O'Fallon, Missouri, native, has a career total of 23 goals in a WWU uniform. He has also been a vital part on the team in the classroom, having been named to the Academic All-AMC team in 2013.
Conelian has been with WWU for four seasons, and has continued to progressively find his role within the team. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native, has totaled 13 assists, eight of which have come this season and has added four goals in his career.
Stroeter, also coming from Sao Paulo, Brazil, has seen plenty of action in the four seasons he has been with the Owls, having seen playing time in 62 of the 80 games in the past four years. He has 11 goals and 14 assists in his career.
The Owls will be looking for redemption against the Vikings, as the last time these two teams' played last year, MVC defeated WWU 4-0 and outshot the Owls 21-14 in the outing.
Missouri Valley (11-3; 5-0 HAAC) has seen much success in the 2014 season, as the Vikings are ninth in the NAIA in shots on goal per game (10) and rank 21
st in the shots per game (18.4).
They are led by Rafael Alcaraz, who has eight goals and three assists on the season and Melquiades Mora, who has contributed seven goals on 25 shots. Raul Beneit, has added a team-high seven assists and chipped in three goals this year.
In net, Christos Kontermiris, has started 15 games, made 46 saves, allowed just 14 goals for a save percentage of .767 and owns a goals against average of .980.
Be sure to check back on wwuowls.com for a full stats and a recap for the game on Sunday.
