No. 7 Men's Soccer Tops Park on Senior Day

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 19, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College soccer teams hosted Park (Mo.) in a Senior Day doubleheader in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.  The No. 20 women's team built up a lead in the first half, and pulled away for a 5-0 win.  The No. 7 men's team used an early goal to earn a 1-0 victory.

Play in the men's game started with early possession held by Missouri Valley.  With nearly five minutes off the clock, the pair of Senior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) and Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) worked together to create the game's first chance.  Green made his way towards goal, and scored from 12-yards out to send the Vikings in front early in the contest, 1-0.  Park came close to finding an equalizer just over 10-minutes later, as a shot hit off the crossbar.  Green tested the Pirate keeper near the 18-minute mark, but his shot was saved.  Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) made his first save of the game just over one minute later.  Midway through the half, Park tested Benitez Delgado again, and another save was made.  The final quality chance for either team came near the 30-minute mark, and Benitez Delgado came up with one more save to help preserve the lead.  The Vikings drew a foul with less than seven minutes to play in the half, and a second yellow card was shown to a Pirate, resulting in Park finishing the remainder of the game down to ten field players.  Missouri Valley went into halftime with its 1-0 lead.

The Vikings held the better of possession at the start of the second half, as both Senior Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) and Senior Midfielder Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) each put shots on goal that were saved in the opening ten minutes of play.  Missouri Valley could not add to its lead in the second half, but MVC also held Park from creating any shots on goal.  The two teams traded possession through much of play, and Missouri Valley eventually finished out a 1-0 victory.

Green scored the only goal of the game, and now has 11 goals, 25 points and two game-winning goals on the season.  Perendjia registered his first assist.  Benitez Delgado made three saves and secured a seventh shutout on the season.  Missouri Valley held a 12-5 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 11-1-2 overall and 7-0-1 in the Heart.  Park drops to 7-3-2 on the season and 4-3-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to play Baker (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader, Wednesday evening.  Women's game starts at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 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.