Pride suffer setback in 2-1 loss at William Woods

FULTON, Mo. - Coming off of their best all-around performance of the 2025 season, the Clarke University men's soccer team couldn't replicate that effort in a road matchup in the Heart of America Athletic Conference on Saturday afternoon in a 2-1 loss at William Woods University.

The Owls would jump out to an early lead when Charlie Williams got WWU on the board in the 14th minute off of assists from Luis Pinto and Francesco Dibra as almost exactly four minutes later, Marlon Swaby doubled that lead with Pinto adding a second assist as well as Miles Andrews recording an assist as well.

That 2-0 score would hold all the way to the halftime break as Clarke would only get off four total shots and two on goal in the opening 45 minutes but would significantly up their attack in the second half, taking 12 shots in the final 45 with nine shots on goal, forcing William Woods to make a season-high 11 total saves, nine from goalkeeper Matthew Dworak and two team saves with defenders keeping the ball from crossing the goal line.

The Pride would get on the board early in the second half though as William Arana would notch his fourth goal of the season and third in four games to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 49th minute but from that point on, the Owls were able to keep the following 10 shots from CU out of the goal and earn their first Heart win of the season.

Clarke goalie Lucas Fontana recorded five saves in the 90-minute effort as only he and defensive back line members Calres Aparisi and Daniel Valverde were the lone members of CU's lineup to play the full time.

Pride men's soccer will remain on the road for the next matchup when they face off against the formidable Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene University, who currently rank No. 2 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll with a new poll slated to release on Wednesday, with the matchup between CU and MNU scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 4 with a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff.