Wildcats Hang Tough with No. 8 William Penn, Fall 1-0 on the Road

OSKALOOSA, Iowa - Facing its third ranked opponent of the season, Baker men's soccer battled with No. 8 William Penn for the full-90, but ultimately fell to the home-standing Statesmen, 1-0 on Saturday.

Keeper Christian Villegas and the BU defense held a Statesmen team that averages over three goals per match to just one goal, a score that came in the first 25 minutes of play.

The Wildcats went up against the high-flying WPU attack that finished with a 14-3 advantage in shots with Villegas collecting six saves in the match for BU. Marco Salgado had the lone shot on goal for Baker with an attempt in the 28th minute.

With four corner kicks in the first part of the game, the Statesmen finally broke through on their fourth set piece with defender Leighton Jameson notching the game-winning goal in the 22nd minute.

While keeping it a one-score game with a scoreless second half from the defense, the Wildcats' only shot of the latter 45 minutes came on the final action of the match with a BU free kick deep in enemy territory. Reilly Marlow-Jones' entry found the head of Evans Osei Amankwah, whose header sailed just wide of the goal to dash Baker's hope of a last-second draw.

Scoring exactly four goals in each of its previous three matches, Baker was held scoreless for the first time in 2024.

Taking on their second straight top-25 conference team, the Wildcats will host No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene for a midweek match on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Hartley Field.

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