No. 19 Women's Soccer Opens Heart Tournament With Win Over Clarke

Marshall, Mo., (Nov. 4, 2023)- The No. 19 Missouri Valley College women's soccer team opened play in the 2023 Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament, Presented by WinWon Technologies, as the No. 2 seed, hosting No. 7 seeded Clarke (Iowa) in the quarterfinal round.  The Vikings scored early, and secured a 2-0 victory.

Play in the game started with an early opportunity created by Missouri Valley, as Sophomore Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) was fouled in the Clarke penalty box, resulting in a penalty kick chance for the Vikings.  Arribas stepped to the spot for the attempt, and scored on her penalty kick to put the team in front, 1-0, with just over six minutes played.  The two teams traded possession through much of the half, as both teams failed to put another shot on goal.  The Vikings went into halftime holding the one goal advantage.

The second half featured few chances early for either team.  The first shot on goal after the restart came nearly 14-minutes into play, as Senior Midfielder Miluska Guevara (Panama City, Panama) had a shot saved.  Ten minutes later, Junior Forward Miriam Aldabo Alguero (Mequinenza, Spain) tried to increase the lead, with her attempt saved by the Pride keeper.  Clarke came close less than one minute later to finding a goal, as a shot hit off the crossbar.  Guevara came back near the 79-minute mark with a chance, but her shot was saved once again.  With less than six minutes remaining in regulation, Sophomore Defender Marta Carrasco Mesa (Sevilla, Spain) set up Sophomore Forward Viktoria Einsbor (Havdrup, Denmark) with an opportunity, and Einsbor scored to stretch the lead out to 2-0 late in the game.  Clarke was unable to build up possession in the final moments of the contest, and Missouri Valley advanced in the tournament with a 2-0 win.

Arribas scored one goal, and now has 19 goals on the season.  She has scored in 10-straight games, and added her eighth game-winning goal.  Einsbor recorded her seventh goal, and Carrasco Mesa registered her fourth assist.  Freshman Goalkeeper Lola Benitez (Madrid, Spain) finished out her sixth shutout of the season without facing a shot on goal.  Missouri Valley held a 13-3 advantage in shots, and earned three corner kicks.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 13-4-2 on the season, while Clarke has its season end with a 10-6-3 record.

Up next, the Viking women's soccer team will host a semifinal round match in the Heart Postseason Tournament, Wednesday at 7 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium against No. 3 seed MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).  Missouri Valley defeated the Pioneers, 2-1, at home back on Oct. 4.  Purchase tickets for Wednesday game at valleywillroll.com or through the new MVC Athletics mobile app.

Box Score-Click Here 

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.