MISHAWAKA, Ind. --- The #13 Bethel Pilots go into Wichita with a tough Round of 16 draw with the NAIA fifth-ranked William Penn Statesmen, who bounced Governors State in the NAIA Second Round on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
The Pilots defeated the #17 Indiana Tech Warriors after a thrilling overtime victory from Thiago dos Santos' goal off a free-kick by Sami Charaf Amal in the 96th minute.
This is the third consecutive year the Pilots have made it to the final site and their 14th appearance at the NAIA National Tournament in program history. The Pilots have not made four consecutive appearances since the '01-'05 seasons, when they made an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament in a four-consecutive-year period.
William Penn has appeared in the NAIA National Tournament five times in its program's history. The latest trip was last season (2023) when the Statesmen defeated the University of the Cumberlands Patriots 1-0 in the NAIA Second Round. They then lost to the Dalton State Road Runners 1-0 in the Round of 16 which was the first in NAIA modern history to be played indoors and would be the Statesmen's only time in program history to make the final site.
The Pilots last faced the Statesmen in the 2022 National Championship season in the NAIA First Round, which ended in a 3-1 Bethel victory. The match was in highly snowy conditions and was the first time Bethel hosted the NAIA First and Second Round since 2022. In 2021, the Statesmen fell to the Indiana Tech Warriors in Fort Wayne, Ind. 2-0.
SCOUTING THE STATESMEN
William Penn has an overall record of 17-2-3 and defeated the Missouri Valley Vikings 1-0 in the Heart of America Conference Tournament Final, then hosted the NAIA First and Second Round where they would defeat Governors State 1-0.
The Statesmen lost to the Vikings 3-1 on Oct. 5 during the conference season and their other loss was to Park 1-0 on Oct. 12.
In the NAIA RPI ratings that were released on Nov. 14, the Statesmen sit in sixth under Missouri Valley and above Mobile (Ala.) in eighth, and the Pilots are 27th.
Hugo Cornish is the leading scorer for William Penn with 11 goals and nine assists for 31 points this season with Albert Feixes following with eight goals and four assists and Miguel Menendez with eight goals and a team-leading 12 assists.
Sean Bohan got the nod to start 17 of the Statesmen's 22 matches allowing 12 goals with a record of 17-2-2, and secured 47 saves, averaging 2.1 saves per match. Kevin Onelius has been the main backup in net with a 4-0-1 record, five goals allowed, and 10 saves in seven games played and five starts.
The Pilots and Statesmen will square off at the Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan. on Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. in another NAIA Top 15 matchup that will be available for free on the NAIA Network with live stats available, both can be found at bupilots.com.
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