No. 7 Men's Soccer Earns Shutout Win Over No. 5 Bellevue

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 16, 2024)- The No. 7 Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted No. 5 Bellevue (Neb.) in a non-conference top ten contest Wednesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings used a second half penalty kick to earn a 1-0 victory.

The game opened with the two teams trading possession through much of the first half.  The first shot on goal in the contest came with just over 28-minutes played, as the attempt from Senior Midfielder Tate Richards (London, England) was saved.  The Vikings continued to pressure Bellevue over the next several minutes, creating three corner kicks through the 35-minute mark.  The Richards shot was the only quality chance manufactured by either team in the first half, and the score remained at 0-0 going into halftime.

Missouri Valley held the better of possession after the restart, and a shot from Senior Midfielder Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) led to a corner kick with nearly 15-minutes off the clock.  A shot off the corner kick was deflected by a defender's hand, resulting in a red card against the Bruins, and a penalty kick for Missouri Valley.  Richards stepped up for the penalty kick, and put his shot past the BU keeper and into goal to send the Vikings in front, 1-0.  With the player advantage, MVC created two more chances over the next stretch.  Richards had a shot saved near the 71-minute mark, and a Junior Forward Leul Alfagame (Madrid, Spain) attempt was also saved six minutes later.  Bellevue had its best chances with just over 10-minutes to play in the contest.  A free kick from outside the MVC box was sent towards goal, and Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) made the save.  A rebound attempt came moments later, and Benitez Delgado saved that shot as well.  Missouri Valley kept BU from creating any more chances in the closing minutes, and finished out a 1-0 victory.

Richards scored his first goal, and registered his first game-winning goal of the season.  Benitez Delgado made two saves for the team's sixth shutout.  Missouri Valley held a 12-2 advantage in shots, and led 6-0 in corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 10-1-2 with the win, and Bellevue drops to 11-1-2.  This is the highest ranked opponent the Vikings have defeated since a 2-1 win over No. 4 Columbia (Mo.), back on Aug. 29, 2021.

Up next, the Viking men's soccer team will host Park (Mo.) for Senior Day, Saturday at 3:30 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The women's game will open the Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader, beginning at 1 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.