No. 16 Men's Soccer Secures Outright Heart Title in Win Over Graceland

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 24, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams hosted Graceland (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader for Senior Night inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium Tuesday evening.  The No. 20 women's team finished out a 2-0 victory, while the No. 16 men's team scored a pair of goals in the second half to earn a 2-0 win, and secure an outright regular season Heart title.

The two teams traded possession at the start of the men's game.  The first chance on goal came with more than seven minutes played, as the attempt from Junior Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) was saved.  Freshman Forward Kerim Akpinar (Bremen, Germany) collected the rebound after the save, but his shot hit off the crossbar.  Graceland earned its first quality chance near the 11-minute mark, but Sophomore Goalkeeper Vicente Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) made the save.  Both teams struggled to create any more opportunities as the half played on.  Green put another shot on goal with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half, and again the GU keeper kept the chance out of goal.  Junior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) added one more late shot that was saved, as the teams went into halftime scoreless.

Missouri Valley had the better of chances through the opening minutes of the second half, as Green, Junior Forward Diego Blanco Alvarez (Oviedo, Spain) and Junior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham, England) all had at least one attempt on goal through the opening 20 minutes of play, with each chance saved.  Midway through the half, Green sent a corner kick in towards goal, which found Adams, who sent his header past the keeper and into goal to put MVC on top, 1-0.  Just over 12 minutes later, the Yellowjackets were called for a foul in their box, which resulted in a penalty kick opportunity for the Vikings.  Green stepped up, and put his penalty shot into the net to push the advantage out to 2-0.  Graceland tried to work back late, and forced Benitez Delgado into a save in the closing minutes, but Missouri Valley held off GU to earn a 2-0 victory.

Adams scored his first goal of the season, and added his first game-winning goal.  Green now has nine goals, six assists and 24 total points this season, all team-highs.  He has scored in three-straight games.  Benitez Delgado made two saves in goal and secured his fifth shutout on the season.  The Vikings held an 18-9 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 10-4 overall and 9-1 in the Heart.  Graceland falls to 4-11-1 on the season and 2-8 in the conference.  The Vikings also secured an outright regular season championship in the Heart, the second-straight conference title for the program.  This is the fifth conference title under Head Coach Vladimir Simic (2011, 2014, 2017, 2022, 2023) and seventh in program-history (1992, 1993).  Missouri Valley will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Heart Postseason Tournament, and earned an automatic berth into the 2023 NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams finish the regular season with a road doubleheader in Atchison, Kan., Saturday, against Benedictine (Kan.).  The women's team takes on the No. 25 Ravens at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4:30 p.m.

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.