No. 24 Women's Soccer Defeats Culver-Stockton on the Road

Canton, Mo., (Sept. 20, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams traveled to Canton, Mo., Wednesday evening for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Culver-Stockton (Mo.).  The No. 24 women's team held off the Wildcats for a 2-1 win, while the No. 22 men's team built up a large first half lead, and finished with a 4-0 victory.

The women's game started with a quick chance on goal created by Culver-Stockon, but Freshman Goalkeeper Lola Benitez (Madrid, Spain) made the save in the first minute of play to keep the teams scoreless.  Missouri Valley answered back less than three minutes later with its first quality chance, as Sophomore Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) had a shot saved.  The two teams traded possession over the next several minutes, with MVC building up pressure near the 16-minute mark.  Senior Midfielder Miluska Guevara (Panama City, Panama) put in the first goal of the contest to put the Vikings in front, 1-0.  The Wildcats followed with a chance three minutes later, and Benitez made another save to keep MVC on top.  The next opportunity came with 10 minutes remaining in the half, as Freshman Forward Julia Richardson (Ashland, Mo.) had a shot saved by the CSC keeper.  Both teams were unable to break through for another chance, and Missouri Valley held a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The second half started with an early chance for the Vikings as Senior Defender Rina Kinami (Tokorozawa, Japan) put a header on-frame, but her attempt was saved.  Benitez was called on for another save with just over five minutes gone after the restart.  Missouri Valley responded and Guevara set up Sophomore Forward Viktoria Einsbor (Havdrup, Denmark) with a chance, and Einsbor put her shot into goal to increase the advantage to 2-0 with over eight minutes played in the second half.  Arribas nearly added to the lead two minutes later, but her shot was saved.  The Wildcats created the better of chances over the next several minutes, and forced Benitez into a pair of saves over a stretch near the 80-minute mark.  The second save created another opportunity for CSC, which was put into the net to cut the team's deficit in half, to 2-1, with less than nine minutes remaining in the game.  The Vikings held off Culver-Stockton as the game came to a close, and held on for a 2-1 victory.

Guevara scored her second goal of the season and added her third assist.  Einsbor scored her first goal and first game-winning goal.  Benitez made five saves in goal.  Missouri Valley held a 14-8 advantage in shots, and a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.  

Missouri Valley improves to 3-3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Heart.  Culver-Stockton drops to 5-2 on the season and 0-2 in the conference.

Missouri Valley got scoring started quickly in the first half, earning a penalty kick with just over six minutes played in the contest.  Junior Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) stepped to the spot, and put his shot past the keeper and into goal to give the team a 1-0 lead.  Seven minutes later, Junior Midfielder Malik Hasanovikj (Skopje, North Macedonia) came close to increasing the advantage, but his shot was saved.  With nearly 15 minutes gone in the game, Sophomore Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, German) set up Green with another chance, and Green scored to keep MVC in front, 2-0.  Culver-Stockton bounced back, and had a number of chances over the next four minutes, with Sophomore Goalkeeper Vicente Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) making three saves during the stretch of play.  Junior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) and Green each had shots on goal near the 30-minute mark, but both attempts were saved by the CSC keeper.  The Vikings continued to keep up the pressure, and Green was involved in another goal, this time earning the assist on a goal from Junior Midfielder Tate Richards (London, England) to move the lead to 3-0 with less than eight minutes to play before the break.  Green added one more shot on goal, and he had another shot hit the crossbar in the closing minutes before MVC went into halftime on top, 3-0.

Play after the restart to begin the second half included a number of chances for Missouri Valley in the first five minutes.  The first chance came from Green that hit off the post with just over one minute played.  Sophomore Forward Leul Alfageme Nadela (Madrid, Spain) had a shot saved just over two minutes later, and he was involved in another opportunity with five minutes gone in the half.  Nadela set up Kruger with a shot, and Kruger scored to move the lead to 4-0.  Jacob Adams and Freshman Forward Petar Radejenovic (Novi Sad, Serbia) each had chances minutes later, but both shots were saved.  The Vikings limited the Wildcats in the second half, and eventually finished out a 4-0 win.

Green scored his first two goals of the season, and added his second assist to go with his first game-winning goal.  Richards added his first goal and Kruger tallied his team-leading fourth goal and now has one assist.  Nadela registered his second assist.  Missouri Valley had a 21-6 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 3-3 with the win and 2-0 in the Heart.  Culver-Stockton drops to 2-2-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to play Mount Mercy (Iowa) in a doubleheader.  Women's game starts at 12 p.m., followed by the men's game at 2:30 p.m.

Men's Box Score-Click Here

Women'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.