No. 11 Men's Soccer Scores Late Game-Winner Over Central Methodist

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 17, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College soccer teams hosted Central Methodist (Mo.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The No. 23 women's team scored a pair of early goals, and held off No. 6 Central Methodist in a 3-2 victory.  The No. 11 men's team used a late game-winner to top the Eagles, 1-0.

The women's game started with Central Methodist creating a quality chance in the opening two minutes of play, as a shot needed to be saved off the line from Junior Defender Marta Carrasco Mesa (Sevilla, Spain).  The two teams traded possession over the next several minutes, with Senior Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) sending the next shot on goal, near the 14-minute mark, which was saved.  Just over two minutes later, MVC had another opportunity, as Junior Midfielder Judit Ferre (Barcelona, Spain) sent a free kick to Junior Midfielder Madi Hudson (Sandbach, England) at the top of the Eagle box.  Hudson put her shot just inside the far post, and sent the Vikings in front, 1-0.  Six minutes later, Missouri Valley added to its advantage, as Junior Defender Ana Rendon (Medellin, Colombia) sent a long pass towards Arribas, who sailed her shot over an out-playing keeper and into goal from more than 35-yards out to make it a 2-0 score.  Central Methodist created the better of chances later in the half, and eventually cut its deficit to 2-1 with a goal after more than 30-minutes of play.  The teams were unable to change the score line before the break, and the Vikings held a 2-1 lead at halftime.

Play in the second half started with CMU taking much of the early possession, creating a pair of corner kicks, and putting a header on goal.  Sophomore Goalkeeper Marina Barbara Bujalance (Cornella Llobregat, Spain) made her first save of the contest on the attempt.  After the two teams traded possession over a stretch of play in the half, the Vikings created its first quality chance after the restart with less than 11-minutes remaining.  Senior Forward Miriam Aldalbo Alguero (Mequinenza, Spain) set up Junior Forward Viktoria Einsbor (Havdrup, Denmark) at the top of the box, and the shot from Einsbor got past the keeper, stretching the advantage to 3-1.  The Eagles responded just over one minute, and scored off a free kick to cut the gap to 3-2.  Central Methodist tried to build up late pressure for a tying goal, but Missouri Valley held off a late rally, and secured a 3-2 victory.

Einsbor scored her second goal and second game-winning goal of the season.  Arribas now has six goals and 14 points on the season, while Hudson added her second goal.  Ferre increased her team-lead in assists to five so far this season, while Aldalbo Auguero and Rendon each registered their second assist.  Barbara Bujalance made one save in goal.  Missouri Valley took seven shots in the game.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the Heart.  Central Methodist drops to 6-1-1 on the season and 1-1 in the conference.

Play in the men's game opened with the two teams trading possession.  The first attempt on goal came with just over four minutes played, as a header from Senior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham, England) was saved.  Five minutes later, Central Methodist created its first quality chance, forcing Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) into a save.  The teams struggled to create chances on goal over the next stretch of play, with Benitez Delgado saving the next shot by either team, near the 30-minute mark.  Three minutes later, a red card was shown, and the Vikings were down to 10 players on the field for the remainder of the contest.  Senior Forward Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) followed with a shot on goal, which was saved with less than nine minutes remaining in the half.  Neither team could break the deadlock, and the contest went into halftime scoreless.

Central Methodist had the better of possession through the early stretch of play in the second half.  Benitez Delgado made another save, with just over two minutes off the clock.  The Eagles came close again to moving in front, as a shot hit off the crossbar at the 57-minute mark.  The Vikings responded, and Hasanovic put a shot on goal three minutes later, which was saved.  Another save was needed from Benitez Delgado, midway through the half.  Junior Forward Leul Alfagame (Madrid, Spain) and Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) each put shots on goal over the next several minutes for MVC, but the shots were all saved.  The Eagles tried to find a late game-winning, and tested Benitez Delgado again in the final five minutes, but the shot was kept out of goal.  The closing minutes, the Vikings gained possession in the CMU defensive third, and Green poked the ball away from an Eagle defender at the top of the box.  His shot deflected off the keeper's hands, and into the net for the game-winning goal with less than three minutes to play.  Missouri Valley held off any late attempts from the Eagles, and earned a 1-0 win.

Green scored his seventh goal of the season, and his second game-winning goal.  He now has 16 points.  Benitez Delgado made five saves in goal and earned his third shutout of the season.  The Vikings held a 15-12 edge in total shots, and a 12-4 advantage in corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 5-1-1 with the win and 2-0 in the Heart.  Central Methodist drops to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams travel to Dubuque, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Clarke, Saturday.  Women's game starts at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 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.