No. 10 Men's Soccer Tops No. 6 William Penn in Heart Game of the Week

Oskaloosa, Iowa, (Oct. 5, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams traveled to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against William Penn (Iowa).   The No. 10 men's team scored a pair of late goals to secure a win over No. 6 William Penn, 3-1.

Missouri Valley jumped out quickly in the women's game, as Senior Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) scored in the opening three minutes of play, off an assist from Junior Forward Marlene Flores (Bolivia), to put the team on top, 1-0.  Arribas came close to extending the advantage just over 12-minutes later, as a shot hit off the crossbar.  William Penn eventually created its first quality chance, with just over 30-minutes off the clock, and Sophomore Goalkeeper Marina Barbara Bujalance (Cornella Llobregat, Spain) made the save.  The Vikings eventually extended the advantage, near the 33-minute mark, on a goal from Junior Midfielder Judit Ferre (Barcelona, Spain), with Arribas adding the assist.  That was the final shot on goal for either team in the half, and Missouri Valley went into the break ahead, 2-0.

Play to open the second half featured the two teams trading possession early.  Both teams put shots on goal, and Barbara Bujalance came up with another save after nearly 12-minutes had been played after the restart.  Missouri Valley began building on its lead six minutes later, when Arribas scored her second of the contest to make it 3-0.  Seven minutes later, Junior Midfielder Serena Abe (Mesquite, Texas) tacked on goal, coming from another assist by Flores, while Ferre scored her second of the day, off a free kick, to make it 5-0 near the 72-minute mark.  Flores came through with a goal, near the final 10-minutes of play, and scoring was capped by Junior Forward Tania Razo (Denver, Colo.), adding a goal with less than seven minutes remaining.  The Vikings closed out another shutout victory, 7-0.

Arribas scored two goals and added one assist.  Arribas now has eight goals, three assists and 19 points on the season.  Ferre added two goals, and now sits with seven goals and 20 points on the season.  Flores added one goal and two assists, and now has three goals and four assists this season.  Abe, and Razio each added one goal.  Barbara Bujalance and Lola Benitez teamed up on the shutout, making two saves.  The team had a 19-5 advantage in shots and produced one corner kick. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 8-3-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the Heart.  William Penn drops to 3-4-5 on the season and 1-3-2 in the Heart.

The men's game started with William Penn holding the better of possession.  The Statesmen worked a pair of shots on goal through the 18-minute mark, both saved by Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain).  Another WPU attempt was saved by Benitez Delgado with just over 28-minutes off the clock.  The Vikings failed to put a shot on goal through the first half, while William Penn was kept from creating any more quality chances in the final 17-minutes of play before the break, and the teams went into halftime scoreless.

Play after the restart had both teams trading possession through nine minutes of action.  Missouri Valley created its first chance on goal from there, and Senior Forward Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) put a shot from 12-yards out in the center of the WPU box into the net to give the team a 1-0 lead.  Benitez Delgado was called on for a pair of saves just two minutes later to keep MVC in front.  With more than 20-minutes played in the half, Benitez Delgado made another save, but the Statesmen eventually broke through to tie the contest at 1-1 at the 67-minute mark.  Missouri Valley created more opportunities, the first coming with just over 10-minutes remaining in the game.  Senior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) scored to put MVC back in front, 2-1.  William Penn came close to tying the teams once again, but Benitez Delgado sent a long-range effort over the crossbar for a save.  With time winding down, the Vikings worked a counter-attack, and Senior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) teamed up with Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) on the chance.  Green put his shot into goal to cap scoring and seal a 3-1 victory.

Green scored his tenth goal of the season, while Hasanovic added his fourth goal.  Perendija scored his second goal.  Igarashi registered his sixth assist, while Freshman Forward Oliver Baladi (Frederikssund, Denmark) now has three assists on the season, and Freshman Defender Ethan Hartness (Southampton, England) registered his second assist.  Benitez Delgado made seven saves in goal.  Missouri Valley got off 11 shots in the game, and held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 9-1-1 on the season and 6-0 in the Heart.  William Penn drops to 11-1-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking women's soccer team hosts Benedictine (Kan.) in a Heart contest, Wednesday at 7 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex. The next game for the men's team is a home contest against Grand View (Iowa), Oct. 12, at 3:30 p.m., as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.

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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.