No. 1 Seed Men's Soccer Falls to No. 2 Seed William Penn in Heart Championship Game

Marshall, Mo., (Nov. 13, 2024)- The No. 1 seed Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted No. 2 seed William Penn (Iowa) in the championship game of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament, Wednesday evening.  The Vikings were unable to overcome an early deficit, and fell, 1-0.

Play in the game started with an early chance created by William Penn.  The Statesmen gained possession in the MVC defensive side of the field, and produced the first shot of the contest, with two minutes off the clock.  The shot went into the Viking goal, and made it a 1-0 score.  Missouri Valley created the next two quality chances over the next 11-minutes of play.  The first was a shot from Tate Richards (London, England) near the nine-minute mark, followed four minutes later by another Richards attempt, but both were saved.  Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) came up with his first save of the contest after nearly 18-minutes of play.  Senior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham, England) saved a shot off the goal line midway through the half to keep MVC at a one-goal deficit.  Benitez Delgado made one more save late in the half, with seven minutes to play before the break, and the Vikings went into halftime trailing, 1-0.

The second half started with the two teams trading possession through a long stretch of play.  Missouri Valley created chances approaching the midway point of the half.  The first attempt came from Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) near the 63-minute mark, while an attempt from Freshman Forward Oliver Baladi (Frederikssund, Denmark) came two minutes later, but both were saved.  William Penn came close to extending its lead late in the contest.  Benitez Delgado made a save with less than five minutes remaining, and the rebound attempt hit off the crossbar and away from goal.  Attempts came late in the game, under the two-minute mark, from both Freshman Defender Ethan Hartness (Southampton, England) and Junior Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, Germany), but the Vikings were unable to find and equalizer, and fell, 1-0.

Benitez Delgado made three saves in goal.  Missouri Valley produced nine shots in the contest, and six corner kicks.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 15-2-3 overall, while William Penn captured the postseason tournament title to improve to 16-2-3.  The Vikings played in the championship game for the tenth time under Head Coach Vladimir Simic, all since 2009.

Up next, the Missouri Valley men's soccer team will learn its location and opponent to open play in the 2024 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship.  The team earned an automatic berth into the National tournament after its undefeated regular season title in the Heart.  The tournament field will be announced Saturday, and the first game for the men's soccer team will be Nov. 23.

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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.