No. 20 Men's Soccer Knocks Off No. 7 MidAmerica Nazarene at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 4, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams hosted MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in a pair of top 25 contests Wednesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The No. 23 women's team overcame an early deficit for a 2-1 victory over No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene, while the No. 20 men's team held off the No. 7 Pioneers in a 1-0 win.

Missouri Valley opened the men's game with early pressure, creating the first shot on goal with just over one minute played as the attempt from Junior Midfielder Malik Hasanovikj (Skopje, North Macedonia) was saved.  Less than one minute later, the Vikings had possession in the MNU box, and a cross deflected off a defender and into goal to give Missouri Valley a 1-0 advantage on an own-goal.  The Pioneers responded with a chance five minutes into play, but the attempt was blocked.  The next opportunity on goal for either team came at the 21-minute mark, when Freshman Kerim Akpinar (Bremen, Germany) had his chance saved.  Sophomore Goalkeeper Vicente Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) was called on for his first save less than two minutes later to keep MNU scoreless.  Junior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Spain) got off a shot with nine minutes remaining before the break that was saved, and Junior Defender Jacob Adams (Nottingham England) looked to increase the advantage three minutes later, but his apparent goal was called back due to a foul.  Junior Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) added a late shot which was saved, and the Vikings went into the break in front, 1-0.

Action in the second half started with a corner kick earned by MidAmerica Nazarene with just over five minutes played after the restart.  However, a red card was issued to a Pioneer player before the corner kick was put into play, resulting in MNU playing down one player through the remainder of the game.  The first shot on goal came with nearly seven minutes played, as the Benitez Delgado made the save.  Four minutes later, Adams put a header towards goal, but his attempt was saved as well.  MidAmerica Nazarene tried to find the equalizer near the 61-minute mark, but Benitez Delgado earned another save.  Midway through the half, Green created a chance, but his shot from the top of the box hit off the post and away from goal.  The Pioneers had the better of possession over the next stretch of play, but could only produce one more quality chance in the closing minutes of the contest.  Benitez Delgado made one more save with just over 11 minutes remaining to keep MNU scoreless.  Sophomore Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, Germany) tried to cap the game with a final goal, but his chance was saved in the final minute.  The Vikings held MidAmerica Nazarene in the closing moments and came away with the 1-0 win.

Benitez Delgado made four saves in goal to earn his third shutout this season.  Missouri Valley held a 12-8 advantage in shots, and earned 11 corner kicks in the match.

Missouri Valley improves to 6-3 overall and, 5-0 in the conference.  MidAmerica Nazarene drops to 6-1-4 on the season and 2-1-2 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams will host Baker (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  Women's game at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 p.m.

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.