No. 7 Men's Soccer Falls to No. 16 Grace at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 4, 2023)- The No. 7 Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted No. 16 Grace (Ind.) in a non-conference contest Monday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings fell in a low-scoring game, 1-0.

Grace opened with an early chance on goal, in less than three minutes played, but Sophomore Goalkeeper Vicente Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) made his first save.  Missouri Valley had its first opportunity less than seven minutes later, as a shot from Junior Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) was saved.  The Vikings held the better of possession through the next stretch of play, but could not put a shot on target through the midway point of the half.  Grace came back with opportunities in the closing minutes.  The first was a shot on goal just past the 39-minute mark, followed by an attempt on target in the closing seconds, but Benitez Delgado saved both shots and sent the game into halftime, scoreless.

The second half started with a quick chance from Grace, less than four minutes after the restart.  Benitez Delgado made another save, then followed with a second save of the half four minutes later.  With just over 17 minutes played in the half, Junior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham, England) was shown two quick yellow cards, resulting in a red card and MVC playing a man down for the remainder of the game.  Grace took advantage of the extra player, and put two shots on goal minutes later, but Benitez Delgado saved each.  Sophomore Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, Germany) tried to put the Vikings on the scoreboard, with a shot near the 67-minute mark, but his attempt was saved.  Grace began to build up pressure minutes later, and created a close-range shot in front of goal that put the team in front, 1-0, with less than 19 minutes to play in the contest.  Junior Midfielder Tate Richards (London, England) tried to even the score just over one minute later, but his shot was saved.  Benitez Delgado was called on for two more saves through the 81-minute mark, and Green came close to equalizing, but had his shot saved with less than eight minutes remaining.  Grace nearly increased its advantage, as a shot went towards goal.  Junior Defender Stahinja Djurdic (Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovinia) saved the shot off the line, deflecting it away from goal at the last moment.  Missouri Valley was unable to find a goal late in the game, and fell by a final score of 1-0.

Benitez Delgado made a career-high nine saves in goal for the Vikings.  Missouri Valley created eight shots, four on goal, and earned four corner kicks.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 0-3 on the season, while Grace improves to 3-2.

Up next, the Viking men's soccer team hosts Midland (Neb.) in a non-conference game, Saturday at 7 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.

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.