No. 5 Men's Soccer Secures Undefeated Heart Title With Win Over Benedictine

Marshall, Mo., (Nov. 1, 2024)- The No. 5 Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted Benedictine (Kan.) to finish out the regular season in a Heart of America Athletic Conference contest Friday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings built up a lead, and held on for a 3-2 victory to secure an undefeated regular season Heart title.

Play in the game featured early possession for Missouri Valley, creating a pair of chances in the opening five minutes.  Both Senior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham, England) and Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) put shots on goal quickly in the contest, but both shots were saved by the Benedictine keeper.  Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) made the first save of the game for MVC, near the 12-minute mark, to keep the teams scoreless.  The Vikings created the next three chances on goal, coming with just over 15-minutes played.  Senior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) had a shot saved, followed minutes later by attempts from Senior Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) and Green that were also saved.  Missouri Valley eventually came through with the first goal of the game, as both Senior Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) and Perendija teamed up to set Green with a chance at the top of the BC box.  Green scored on his shot to give the team a 1-0 lead at the 26-minute mark.  One minute later, the advantage grew to 2-0 as Senior Midfielder Tate Richards (London, England) assisted on a goal from Freshman Midfielder Rodrigo Diaz (Chicago, Ill.).  The Vikings held Benedictine from creating any quality chances late in the half, and went into the break on top by two goals.

The second half started with the Ravens creating multiple chances through the 58-minute mark.  Benitez Delgado made three saves during the stretch of play to keep BC scoreless.  With just over 16-minutes played in the half, Missouri Valley gained possession near the Benedictine box, and Green set up Sophomore Forward Kerim Akpinar (Bremen, Germany) with a shot.  Akpinar put his attempt into goal, and extended the MVC advantage to 3-0.  Akpinar came close to extending the lead five minutes later, but his shot was saved.  The Ravens tried to mount a late comeback, and scored two goals in the closing minutes of the game.  The first game with just over eight minutes remaining, followed just over one minute later with another goal to make it a 3-2 contest.  Benitez Delgado needed to make one more save in the final minute of play to end the threat, and secure a 3-2 win for Missouri Valley.

Green scored one goal and added one assist.  He now has 15 goals and four assists on the season, for a team-high 34 points.  Diaz score his first goal of the season, and Akipnar now has three goals and three game-winning goals.  Both Hashimoto and Richards registered their third assists, and Perendija added his second assist.  Benitez Delgado made five saves.  Missouri Valley held a 14-9 advantage in shots, and a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.

The win brings Missouri Valley to 13-1-3 overall and 9-0-2 in the Heart.  Benedictine falls to 9-5-4 on the season and 4-3-4 in the conference.  The Vikings secured an undefeated regular season Heart title, the third-straight regular season championship for the program.

Up next, is the Heart Postseason Tournament.  Missouri Valley is the No. 1 seed in the tournament.  The conference tournament begins Wednesday, with a 7 p.m., match inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings will find out their opponent after the conclusion of all Heart games, Saturday.  The team has already secured an automatic berth into the 2024 NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament

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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.