PARKVILLE, Mo. – The William Woods University men's soccer team opens its 2015 American Midwest Conference part of its schedule on Saturday, as the team pays a visit to Park University. Kick-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
The Owls (2-2) are coming off a hard fought battle on Wednesday night against Central Methodist University, where the team displayed a strong 100:00 minutes of play but came up short in the end, falling 1-0 to the Eagles in overtime. It was a very physical game, with neither team wanting to give an inch through the entire match-up, as both teams combined for 10 cards on the night.
"We are looking forward to getting back on the pitch and getting the bad taste of this loss out of our mouths," said head coach
Nathan Mason. "Hopefully we use the loss at CMU as fuel to get us motivated for the start of our conference play"
On the season,
Alex Severino has recorded a team-high five goals, 11 shots and 11 points, while
Lendell Louis-Jacques leads the team in assists with three and in the net,
Conor Cable has collected 10 saves and one win on the season.
Park University is coming off an impressive 2014 season, where the Pirates ended the year with an overall record of 12-4-1 and an AMC record of 7-2-1. Despite finishing in second place in the AMC regular season standings, the team's 2014 campaign ended in the hands of Columbia College, as the Cougars defeated Park 2-1 in the AMC Championship Quarterfinals.
The Pirates return nine starters from its squad a year ago, including its leading scorer Cyril Gadu, who posted 13 goals and three assists, while Lucas Sousa, an All-American is also returning six goals and 13 assists from 2014. In the net, returns sophomore Lucas Vallilo, who only allowed five in six games with 20 saves last season.
Currently, Park University is 2-0-1 on the season, as the team has outscored its opponents 13-1 in their first three games of the year. In the Pirates last outing, the team played 110:00 minutes of strong soccer, however couldn't find the back of the net, tying Baker University 1-1.
On the season, Gadu picked up right where he left off last season, as the sophomore leads the team with four goals, meanwhile Souza has handed out a remarkable five assists in three games so far from the Pirates and Vallilo has proved to be a specialist between the posts, recording 7 saves and two wins in 271:50 minutes of play.
"Going on the road and taking on Park University at their place is never easy," mentioned Mason. "We look forward to the challenge, though and look to start conference play with a strong showing."
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap of this AMC showdown from Parkville, Missouri tomorrow evening.Â
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