No. 1 Seed Men's Soccer Defeats No. 8 Seed Park in Heart Quarterfinals

Marshall, Mo., (Nov. 6, 2024)- The No. 1 seed Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted No. 8 seed Park (Mo.) in the quarterfinal round of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament Wednesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings used a pair of first half goals to earn a 2-1 victory.

The game started with Park holding the better of possession in the opening 10 minutes of play.  The Pirates created three corner kick opportunities during the run of play, but could not produce a shot on goal.  With just over 11-minutes off the clock, Park was called for a foul in its box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Vikings.  Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) stepped up, and put his shot into goal to send MVC in front, 1-0.  The Pirates worked back to test Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) with a pair of shots, which were both saved through the 20-minute mark.  Two minutes later, Senior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) put a shot on goal, which was saved.  Park took advantage of a bad pass out of the back, and tied the score at 1-1 with a goal near the 26-minute mark.  Missouri Valley responded three minutes later, as the pair of Junior Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, Germany) and Senior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) set up Igarashi on goal.  Igarashi dribbled around the keeper, and put his shot into an empty net to send MVC back on top, 2-1.  The Pirates created four corner kicks and added a shot on goal over the next several minutes.  Benitez Delgado made the save to maintain the Viking lead.  Both teams were unable to create another quality chance in the closing minutes of the half, and Missouri Valley went into halftime with a 2-1 advantage.

The Vikings earned a free kick just outside the Park box with less than four minutes played to start the second half, and Green sent a shot towards goal, but the attempt was saved by a diving Pirate keeper.  Igarashi followed three minutes later with another chance, which was also saved.  The two teams traded possession over the rest of the half, and both teams were unable to create a shot on goal.  The Vikings eventually finished out a 2-1 victory to advance in the tournament.

Igarashi added his fifth goal and tied a team-high with three game winning goals on the season.  Green recorded his 16^th goal, and had 36 total points.  Perendija added his third assist, and Kruger tallied his second assist of the season.  Benitez Delgado made three saves in goal.  Missouri Valley led, 12-10, in shots, and created eight corner kick opportunities.

Missouri Valley improves to 14-1-3 on the season, while Park falls to 7-7-2.

Up next, the Vikings will host No. 5 seed Baker (Kan.) in the semifinal round of the Heart Postseason Tournament, Saturday at 7 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  Missouri Valley topped the Wildcats, 2-1, back on Oct. 23.

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.