No. 14 Men's Soccer Secures Heart Title in Win Over Clarke

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 21, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams hosted Clarke (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The No. 20 women's team finished off a 3-0 victory, while the No. 14 men's team topped the Pride, 3-0.  The men's team clinched at least a share of the Heart regular season championship.

The men's game started with the two teams trading possession through most of the play.  Both teams struggled to create quality chances, with no chances on goal created by either team.  The contest was scoreless going into halftime.

Missouri Valley put the first shot on goal in the half with just over five minutes played after the restart as Junior Defender Daniel Fernandez (Madrid, Spain) had his attempt saved.  The Vikings continued to pressure the Clarke defense over the next stretch of play, and eventually created the game's opening goal.  Junior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) put MVC on top with a goal just past the 61-minute mark.  Six minutes later, Junior Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) nearly doubled the advantage, but his shot was saved.  With less than 20 minutes remaining in the contest, Fernandez set up Junior Defender Jacob Adams  (Nottingham, England) with a chance, sending in a cross on a corner kick.  Adams scored on the opportunity to put the lead at 2-0.  The final goal of the contest came seven minutes later when Junior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) assisted Green on a goal to help cap the 3-0 victory.

Perendija scored his first goal of the season, and registered his first game-winning goal.  Adams added his first goal, and Green increased his team-leading goal total to eight on the season.  Fernandez recorded his first assist and Igarashi now has two assists on the season.  Vicente Benitez Delgado and Marcal Aspas teamed up on the fifth shutout of the season.  Missouri Valley led 15-7 in shots, and 7-3 in corner kicks.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 9-4 overall and 8-1 in the Heart.  Clarke drops to 6-4-4 on the season and 3-4-2 in the conference.  The win clinches at least a share of the Heart regular season title for the men's soccer team.  This is a second-straight conference title for the program, the fifth under Head Coach Vladimir Simic (2011, 2014, 2017, 2022, 2023) and the seventh all-time for the program (1992, 1993).  The team also clinches the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Heart Postseason Tournament, and secures the first automatic berth from the Heart into the 2023 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship.  The Vikings can clinch an out-right Heart title with a win or a tie against Graceland (Iowa), Tuesday.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams host Graceland (Iowa) for Senior Night, Tuesday, inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  Women's game at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.

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.