No. 4 Men's Soccer Pulls Away From Park
Marshall, Mo., (April 10, 2021)- The No. 4 Missouri Valley College men's soccer team hosted Park (Mo.) in the quarterfinal round of the Heart Postseason Championship Saturday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium. The Vikings pulled away in the second half to earn a 5-1 victory, and advance into the tournament semifinals.
Missouri Valley had the better of opportunities through much of the first half. The first shot on goal came with nearly eight minutes played, but the attempt from Senior Midfielder Luka Gluscevic (Belgrade, Serbia) was saved. Nearly nine minutes later, Freshman Midfielder Aleksa Cobanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) nearly came through with the game's first goal, but his shot it off the post and out of play. The Viking defense allowed only one shot from Park through much of the half. With 10-minutes to play before the break, Missouri Valley eventually came through another chance. Sophomore Forward Paulo Alves (Curitiba, Brazil) sent a cross to the center of the Pirate box, and found Sophomore Midfielder Kainan Dos Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The shot from Dos Santos beat the Park keeper to the lower-left corner of the goal, and gave MVC a 1-0 lead. The advantage was short-lived, as a handball inside the Viking box allowed Park to take a penalty kick less than one minute after play resumed. The penalty kick was successful, and the two teams went into halftime tied at 1-1.
Chances in the second half started with just over six minutes played, as Alves had a shot on goal, but the Park keeper made another save. Two minutes later, Cobanovic had another attempt, but his shot was also kept out of goal by the Pirate keeper. The Vikings broke the tie near the 55-minute mark, as Alves and Freshman Defender Luke Sowerby (Manchester, England) linked up down the sideline, and found Gluscevic open in the center of the Park box. Gluscevic deflected the cross past the Park keeper and into goal, giving MVC a 2-1 advantage. 12-minutes later, the lead increased, as Sowerby sent a long shot from outside the box that went to the far-post and made its way into goal, making it a 3-1 score. The advantage grew again, with 15-minutes remaining in the contest, as Freshman Midfielder Mike Moser (Thun, Switzerland) sent a long over-the-top ball to Gluscevic. Gluscevic dribbled around the keeper and was heading towards goal, but pulled a pass back to an open Dos Santos who added his second of the game, to extend the lead to 4-1. Dos Santos added one more goal, scoring on a penalty kick at the 76-minute mark, to finish off a hat-trick. Sophomore Dusan Milosevic (Belgrade, Serbia) made his only save in goal one minute later, and Missouri Valley earned a 5-1 victory.
Dos Santos posted his first-career hat-trick, and now has a team-high 11 goals and ties team-high 25 points on the season. This is the second hat-trick of the season, as Sophomore Midfielder Tom Preston (Blackpool, England) scored three goals in an 8-0 win over Clarke (Iowa), back on Oct. 31, 2020. Gluscevic added one goal and one assist, and also has 25 points. Sowerby added his first goal and first assist of the season, and Alves had two assist, and sits with 12 points. Missouri Valley held a 14-6 advantage in shots, and Milosevic made one save in goal.
The win moves Missouri Valley to 13-3-1 on the season, while Park drops to 6-6-2.
Up next, the Viking men's soccer team will host a Heart Postseason Championship semifinal match, Wednesday. Missouri Valley plays the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal match between No. 21 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), and Baker (Kan.).
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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.