No. 18 Women's Soccer Secures Heart Title in Win Over 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 women's game started with Missouri Valley creating the better of chances from the beginning.  The first shot on goal came just over 10-minutes into play, as an attempt from Junior Midfielder Carla Carmona (Barcelona, Spain) was saved.  One minute later, Junior Midfielder Judit Ferre (Barcelona, Spain) also put a shot on target, which was saved.  The save off the Ferre shot led to a corner kick, and Senior Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) eventually worked a series of chances, putting her third attempt past the keeper and into goal to give MVC a 1-0 lead with less than 12-minutes off the clock.  The Vikings forced the BU keeper into another five saves through the remainder of the half, but could not increase the advantage.  Baker was kept from producing any quality chances through the half, and MVC went into the break holding the 1-0 advantage.

Play in the second half featured an early chance created by the Vikings.  Carmona connected with Junior Forward Malene Flores (Bolivia) at the top of the BU box, and Flores sent her shot into goal to extend the lead to 2-0 with less than one minute off the clock.  Missouri Valley continued to pressure the Wildcats, and after four saves by the BU keeper, Arribas registered the second goal of the match, off another assist from Carmona, to make it a 3-0 score midway through the half.  The Wildcats created only one chance on goal in the contest, which led to a save from Sophomore Goalkeeper Marina Barbara Bujalance (Cornella Llobregat, Spain) near the 80-minute mark.  The Vikings finished out the remaining time in the game for a 3-0 victory, clinching at least a share of the Heart regular season title.

Arribas scored two goals, and now has 11 goals and 25 points on the season.  Arribas also has 97-career points.  Carmona added one goal and one assist to sit with three goals, four assists and 10 points on the season.  Flores scored one goal and has eight goals and 20 points this season.  Barbara Bujalance made one save to secure the team's ninth shutout of the season.  The team held a 24-1 advantage in shots and created seven corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 12-3-1 overall and 9-0-1 in the Heart.  Baker drops to 4-10-1 on the season and 2-6-1 in the conference.  The Vikings clinched at least a share of the Heart regular season title, the first regular season championship for the program since 1993.

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.

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.