No. 9 Men's Soccer Sets Historic Night in Win Over Harris-Stowe

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 10, 2024)- The No. 9 Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted Harris-Stowe (Mo.) in a non-conference game Tuesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings scored a late goal in the first half, then pulled away for a 3-0 victory.  Two milestones were reached in the contest, as Head Coach Vladimir Simic won his 300^th career game, and Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) topped the 100-point mark in his career.

Missouri Valley held the better of possession through much of play in the first half.  The opening shot on goal came nearly seven minutes into the contest, as the attempt from Junior Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, Germany) was saved.  The Vikings created four corner kick opportunities through the 17-minute mark, and continued to own possession through the next stretch.  Sophomore Forward Kerim Akpinar (Bremen, Germany) put the next shot on goal, midway through the half, which was saved again by the Harris-Stowe keeper.  Senior Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) added another attempt, but his shot was saved with less than 10 minutes to play in the half.  With time winding down before the break, MVC built up pressure again, and Freshman Forward Oliver Baladi (Frederikssund, Denmark) found Junior Forward Leul Alfagame (Madrid, Spain) at the top of the Harris-Stowe box.  Alfagame put his shot to the opposite post and past the keeper in the final minute of play to send the Vikings into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Play in the second half featured HSSU creating the better of chances early, forcing Senior Goalkeeper Marcal Aspas (Barcelona, Spain) into a pair of saves with nine minutes played after the restart.  Missouri Valley bounced back, and created another quality opportunity nearly three minutes later.  Green was set up near the Harris-Stowe goal, and extended the advantage to 2-0 with a goal.  The goal was an historic one for the program, as Green reached 101 points in his career, and becomes the third player in program-history to reach the benchmark.  Senior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) came close to extending the lead near the 62-minute mark, as his shot was saved, and Aspas needed to make a save on a HSSU free kick a little more than two minutes later.  The Vikings added one more goal in the closing minutes of the contest, as Akpinar set up Hashimoto with a shot.  The long-range attempt from Hashimoto made its way past the keeper, and sealed a 3-0 win for Missouri Valley.

Green finished with one goal, and now has four goals and nine points on the season.  Green increased his career points total to 101 points, scoring 39 goals and adding 23 assists.  He becomes the third player in program-history to reach 100 career points, joining Nicholas Alexander (107 points from 2010-13) and Doug Fenstermacher, Jr. (100 points from 1992-94).  Alfagame added his third goal and first game-winning goal of the season, while Hashimoto scored his first goal.  Akipnar, Baladi and Freshman Midfielder Ethan Quarchioni (Bournemouth, England) each added one assist.  Aspas made three saves the secure the shutout.  Missouri Valley held a 10-4 advantage in shots, and created seven corner kicks.

Missouri Valley improves to 3-1-1 with the win, and Harris-Stowe drops to 1-3-2.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams will open play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a home doubleheader, Saturday afternoon, against Mount Mercy (Iowa).  Women's game starts at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.

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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.

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