Missouri Valley junior forward Lorenzo Fagiani (13) puts a shot past the Mount Mercy goalkeeper for an insurance goal in the Vikings’ 3-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory on Gregg-Mitchell Field in Marshall Wednesday. The No. 5-ranked Vikings improved to 7-2-1 overall and 5-1 in the league. The Vikings play another HAAC match at Clarke in Dubuque, Iowa, Saturday. Hobby King/Democrat-News
by Andy Pulverenti/MVC Athletics
The Missouri Valley College men’s and women’s soccer teams hosted Mount Mercy (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium. The No. 12 women’s team scored early and earned a 7-0 victory. The No. 5 men’s team scored a pair of second half goals to help secure a 3-1 win.
Scoring started early in the first half of the women’s game, as the first shot on goal came from Sophomore Defender Nicoline Hansen (Greve, Denmark), who put her attempt off the post and into goal to make it a 1-0 advantage with two minutes played. Senior Midfielder Miluska Guevara (Panama City, Panama) and Sophomore Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) combined on the assist. Just over one minute later, Freshman Forward Judit Ferre (Barcelona, Spain) came up with a turnover and dribbled through the Mount Mercy defense to set up a breakaway opportunity. Ferre also had her shot hit off the post and into goal to make it 2-0. Missouri Valley held the better of possession over the next stretch of play, but could only produce one other chance on goal through the 29-minute mark, as an attempt from Guevara was saved. With just over 15-minutes remaining in the half, MVC earned a corner kick, which was sent into the MMU box by Guevara. Freshman Defender Daijah White (Tuscon, Ariz.) was first to the ball, and sent her header into goal to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. Missouri Valley kept the Mustangs from holding much possession through the rest of the half. The Vikings produced one more shot on goal, from Hansen with five minutes to play before the break, but her shot was saved. Missouri Valley went into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
Moments after the start of the second half, Arribas stepped in front of a Mount Mercy pass, and broke towards goal. She dribbled around the MMU defenders, and her shot from 12-yards out beat the keeper and made it a 4-0 score line with less than 15-seconds played. Five minutes later, Freshman Defender Marta Carrasco Mesa (Sevilla, Spain) sent a long-range effort, from 25-yards out, up and over the Mustang keeper and into goal to make it 5-0. Goal number six followed just over seven minutes later, as Arribas assisted on a goal from Freshman Midfielder Madi Hudson (Sandbach, England). The final goal of the contest came near the 63-minute mark, as Senior Midfielder Morgan Dierks (Kansas City, Kan.) set up Senior Forward Helena Talbot (Markleville, Ind.) with a shot in front of the Mount Mercy goal. Talbot scored, and finished out the 7-0 win for the Vikings.
Hansen scored the game-winning goal, while White, Talbot, Ferre, Carrasco Mesa and Hudson each had one goal. Arribas finished with one goal and two assists. Guevara tallied three assists, and Dierks added one assist. Missouri Valley finished with an 18-2 advantage in shots, and produced 12 corner kicks. Senior Goalkeeper Marina Barneda (Palamos, Spain) and Sophomore Goalkeeper Marina Barbara Bujalance (Cornella Llobregat, Spain) teamed up on the shutout. The seven goals scored was the most for the program since a 9-0 win over Mount Mercy back on Sept. 22, 2020.
The win moves Missouri Valley to 7-2-2 on the season, and 4-1-1 in the Heart. Mount Mercy drops to 3-5-1 overall and 2-4 in the conference.
The men’s game started with the first chance on goal produced by the Mustangs, as Senior Goalkeeper Dusan Milosevic (Belgrade, Serbia) was called on for a save with just over three minutes played. Missouri Valley’s first opportunity came more than five minutes later, as Sophomore Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) had a shot saved by the Mustang keeper. Green followed with another shot on goal near the 14-minute mark, but again the attempt was saved. The two teams traded possession through much of the first half, and both were unable to put any shots on goal until later in the first half. With less than two minutes to play before halftime, Junior Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) sent a cross to the opposite side of the MMU goal. The pass found Sophomore Forward Diego Blanco Alvarez (Oviedo, Spain) ten yards out, and he sent a one-touch shot past the Mount Mercy keeper to give Missouri Valley a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Mustangs opened the second half with another quick chance on goal, forcing Milosevic into a save to keep MVC in front. With nearly 11-minutes played in the half, Mount Mercy created another chance, and scored on the opportunity to even the score line at 1-1. One minute later, the Vikings reclaimed the lead, as Junior Midfielder Jamie McGinnes (Barnsley, England) received a pass at the top of the box from Junior Forward Lorenzo Fagiani (Rome, Italy), and sent a volley shot over the MMU keeper and into goal to make it 2-1. Just over seven minutes later, Fagiani created his own chances on goal. He had a breakaway shot saved by the Mustang keeper, but Fagiani collected the rebound, and sent his second shot into an empty net to give the team a 3-1 advantage. The lead nearly grew away with 20-minutes to play, as Freshman Forward Niall Rooney had a shot hit off the cross bar. The Vikings created one more chance late, but the shot from Green was saved with eight minutes remaining. Freshman Goalkeeper Cristobal Benitez Delgado (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) finished out the game with a late save to hold off Mount Mercy, and secure the 3-1 win for Missouri Valley.
McGinnes scored the game-winning goal, while Fagiani finished with one goal and one assist. Blanco Alvarez had one goal, and Hashimoto registered one assist. Milosevic made three saves in goal, and Benitez Delgado made one save. Missouri Valley held a 10-6 advantage in shots, and produced five corner kicks.
The win moves Missouri Valley to 7-2-1 on the season and 5-1 in the Heart. Mount Mercy drops to 5-3-3 overall and 2-2-2 in the conference.
Up next, the Viking soccer teams travel to Dubuque, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Clarke (Iowa), Saturday. Women’s game at 1 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 3:30 p.m.