No. 4 Seed Men's Soccer Scores Two Second Half Goals in Tournament Win Over Louisiana Christian

Marshall, Mo., (Nov. 23, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted Louisiana Christian inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium Saturday afternoon in the second round of the 2024 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship.  The No. 4 seeded Vikings used a pair of goals in the second half to advance in the tournament with a 2-0 win.

The two teams traded possession through a long stretch of play in the first half.  The first shot on goal for either team came with more than 18-minutes off the clock, as Junior Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) came up with his first save of the game.  The Vikings countered nine minutes later with a pair of chances, but the shots from Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) and Senior Midfielder Tate Richards (London, England) were both saved.  Louisiana Christian countered with another quality chance, which was saved once again by Benitez Delgado near the 29-minute mark.  Both teams put late chances on goal to close the first half.  The first was a hard shot from Senior Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) that was saved, while Benitez Delgado made one more save in the final seconds to end play in the half with the teams held scoreless.

Play in the second half started with an early chance created by Missouri Valley.  Freshman Forward Rodrigo Diaz (Chicago, Ill.) forced the Louisiana Christian keeper into a save with nearly four minutes played after the restart.  The Vikings continued to build up pressure, and eventually broke through with the game's first goal.  The pair of Freshman Defender Ethan Hartness (Southampton, England) and Senior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) worked together to set up Sophomore Forward Kerim Apkinar (Bremen, Germany) with a chance.  The shot from Akpinar went past the keeper into the net to give MVC a 1-0 lead with just over 20-minutes played in the half.  Five minutes later, Junior Midfielder Julius Kruger (Berlin, Germany) nearly increased the advantage, as his shot was saved.  Louisiana Christian was kept from producing a quality chance over the next stretch, and Missouri Valley eventually put the game away.  Akpinar scored once again, off another Igarashi assist, in the final four minutes to secure a 2-0 victory and advance the team into the next round of the National tournament.

Akpinar recorded the first multi-goal game of his season, with the pair of goals.  He now has five goals and 15 points to go with four game-winning goals.  Igarashi leads the team with seven assists on the season, and sits with 17 points, while Hartness added his third assist.  Benitez Delgado came up with three saves in the game to secure the team's tenth shutout.  Missouri Valley held a 15-5 advantage in shots, and earned four corner kicks.

The win moves the Vikings to 16-2-3 on the season, while Louisiana Christian's season ends with a 15-5-3 record.

Up next, Missouri Valley advances into the third round, and to the National tournament site.  The tournament resumes at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan., with the third round.  The Vikings will play MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the third round, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m.  Missouri Valley defeated the Pioneers in the regular season, 2-1, in Olathe, Kan., back on Oct. 2.  The men's soccer team has advanced to the National site in eight-straight seasons, and 11 times overall, all since 2013.

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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.