FULTON, Mo.—After suffering a heartbreaking loss against Lyon College in its American Midwest Conference (AMC) opener on September 13
th, the William Woods University men's soccer team will look to rebound and pick up an important win against (RV) Park University on Wednesday night. Kick-off is set to start at 7 p.m.
After a scoreless first half, the Owls (5-1-1; 0-1-0 AMC) finally broke through in the 70
th minute, as
Luca Stroeter found the back of the net for the first time this season, giving WWU a 1-0 lead.
In the 77
th minute, however, Lyon's Jonathan Ray scored his second goal on the year, tying the game up at 1-1. Then, with what seemed like a game that was heading for overtime, in shocking fashion, at the 89:58 mark of the second half, Jack Hayes broke the 1-1 tie, scoring his third goal on the season, which snapped WWU's win streak at four.
The Owls totaled 16 shots in the game and were led by
Alex Severino's four shots, while
Paulo Conelian added three and nine other Owls earned one shot. Meanwhile, freshman goaltender
Conor Cable, made four saves on the night.
Despite the tough loss, the Owls have won four out of its last five games and on the season, the team has outscored (20-4) and outshot (130-75) its opponents by a wide margin.
Leading the way has been the duo of Severino and
Jacob Hawes, as they are tied for the team lead in goals (four). Sophomore
Anthony Moscatello is second on the team, having three goals and six points, while senior
Alan Matthew has contributed two.
Senior
Paulo Conelian, meanwhile, leads the team in assists (six), which is first in the AMC and second in the NAIA, while teammate and fellow senior Stroeter is ninth in the NAIA in assists (four).
In net, freshman Cable has played in 581:30 minutes, made 27 saves and has a goals against average of 0.620, which is 29
th best in the NAIA.
The Owls will be looking for redemption against a (RV) Park University (4-0; 0-0 AMC) team that beat WWU twice last year, once during the regular season (2-1) and the other in the AMC Tournament Semifinals, where the Pirates eliminated the Owls, winning 4-1.
The Pirates then went on to win the AMC Postseason Tournament, defeating Hannibal-LaGrange in penalty kicks and earn a trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
This season, Park has defeated the likes of St Mary's (7-1), Avila University (1-0), Graceland University (2-0) and picked up an impressive win over No. 8-ranked Baker College (3-2).
The Pirates, like William Woods, are strong defensively and in goal, as they have only surrendered three goals, while on offense, they have totaled 13.
On the offensive side of the ball, Park is led by George Kennedy and Cyril Gadu, as they have totaled three goals and one assist a piece. Ignacio Flores Garay has contributed two goals and two assists, while five other Pirates have found the back of the net once this year.
In net, Lucas Vallilo, has appeared in four games, allowing two goals, while making 13 saves and earning a goals against average of .600, in 299:10 minutes of play.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from Firley Field.
