No. 5 Men's Soccer Overcomes Early Deficit in Win at Baker

Baldwin City, Kan., (Oct. 23, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams continued play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a road doubleheader in Baldwin City, Kan., against Baker (Kan.). The No. 18 women's soccer team earned a 3-0 victory and clinched at least a share of the Heart regular season title.  The No. 5 men's team fell behind early, but came away with a 2-1 win.

Baker jumped out quickly in the men's game, scoring with just over two minutes played in the contest to go in front, 1-0.  The Wildcats had the better of chances over the next several minutes, forcing Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) into three saves through the 18-minute mark. The two teams traded possession over the next stretch of play.  Missouri Valley created its first quality chance near the 29-minute mark, when Senior Midfielder Tate Richards (London, England) sent a pass to Senior Midfielder Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) in the BU box.  Hasanovic put his shot past the keeper and into goal for the equalizer, to make it a 1-1 score.  The Vikings tried to grab the advantage just before the break, as Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) put a shot on-target, but his shot was saved with less than four minutes remaining, and the two teams went into halftime tied at 1-1.

The second half started with the two teams trading possession, and Benitez Delgado made another save, just over seven minutes into play, to keep the teams even.  A little more than five minutes later, MVC earned a free kick just outside the Baker box.  Green stepped up, and put his free kick attempt over the wall and into goal to put the team in front, 2-1, with 32-minutes remaining in the contest.  Both teams were unable to put together shots on goal through a long stretch of play in the half.  Green came close to extending the lead at the 83-minute mark, as another free kick attempt hit off the post.  Hasanovic came back one minute later with a shot that hit off the crossbar.  Baker could not work back to tie the game late, and Missouri Valley finished out a 2-1 win.

Green scored one goal, and now has 12 goals, 27 points and three game-winning goals on the season.  Hasanovic added one goal, and has five goals and 11 points.  Richards recorded his second assist.  Benitez Delgado made four saves in goal.  Missouri Valley held a 12-10 edge in shots, and earned six corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 12-1-2 on the season and 8-0-1 in the Heart.  Baker drops to 9-6-1 overall and 3-5-1 in the conference.

Up next, the teams will travel to Lamoni, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Graceland (Iowa), Saturday evening.  The women's team starts at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  The women's team can clinch an outright regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Heart Postseason Tournament with a win or a tie.

Men's 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.