Men's Soccer Advances to National Semifinals
Augusta, Ga., (May 6, 2021)- The No. 4 Missouri Valley College played No. 5 Keiser (Fla.) in the quarterfinal round of the 2020 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Thursday at Blanchard Woods Park north of Augusta, Ga. The Vikings fell into an early 2-0 deficit, but scored late in the first half and second half to tie the contest. Missouri Valley then won the penalty kick shootout, and advanced to the semifinals.
Keiser had the better of chances early in the game, forcing Sophomore Goalkeeper Dusan Milosevic (Belgrade, Serbia) into a pair of saves in the first seven minutes of play. At the eight-minute mark, Keiser took advantage of an opportunity, and scored, to go in front, 1-0. The first shot on goal for the Vikings came just over six minutes later, but the long-range attempt from Junior Forward Rube Jimenez (Barcelona, Spain) was kept out of goal. Freshman Forward Mike Moser (Thun, Switzerland) followed with a shot near the 18-minute mark, but his shot was also saved. With just under 21-minutes played in the half, Keiser was awarded a free kick about 23-yards from goal. The free kick was put into the lower corner of the goal, and increased Keiser's lead to 2-0. Keiser nearly increased its lead with just over 12-minutes to play in the half, but a shot hit off the post. Milosevic came up with two more saves late in the half, but Missouri Valley strung together some possession. With just under six minutes to play in the half, Junior Forward Aleksandar Trujic (Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovina) sent a cross toward Jimenez, who scored off a header to cut the MVC deficit to 2-1 going into halftime.
Both teams struggled to put shots on goal early in the second half. Keiser worked the first shot on goal with just over 20-minutes played, but Milosevic came up with another save. Missouri Valley held possession over the next stretch, but could not put a shot on frame. Keiser nearly increased its lead late in regulation, but Milosevic made a save with eight minutes remaining. The Vikings strung together a series of shots over the next several minutes, and finally broke through late in the half. Freshman Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Yokohama, Japan) found Senior Midfielder Luka Gluscevic (Belgrade, Serbia) in the offensive third. Gluscevic sent a cross into the Keiser box, and Sophomore Forward Kainan Dos Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored with less than three minutes remaining in the second half to tie the contest at 2-2, and send the teams into overtime.
The first overtime period was controlled early by Missouri Valley, putting three shots on goal in the opening four minutes. Jimenez had two shots saved, and Sophomore Midfielder Tom Preston (Blackpool, England) had one shot saved during the stretch. Milosevic was needed for a save late in the first overtime period, and the score stayed at 2-2. The second overtime period featured just one shot on goal, from Sophomore Forward Milos Grahovac (Hamilton, Ontario), but the attempt was saved with two minutes remaining, and the contest went into a penalty kick shootout to determine which team would advance.
Grahovac made the first penalty kick taken by Missouri Valley, but Senior Defender Gianmarco Donnini (Florence, Italy) missed the second attempt. Sophomore Forward Miroslav Markovic (Loznica, Serbia) converted on the third kick, and Milosevic made a save on Keiser's fourth kick. Gluscevic kept the shootout going by converting the fourth penalty kick, and tying the shootout at 3-3. After a successful kick from Keiser followed, Dos Santos extended the shootout by converting the fifth kick, and keeping the teams tied at 4-4. Milosevic made his second save of the shootout to set up Sophomore Forward Paulo Alves (Curitiba, Brazil), who made his penalty kick which advanced the Vikings into the National semifinals, 5-4.
Dos Santos increased his goal total on the season to a team-high 16, and also leads the team in points, with 36. Jimenez added his second goal of the season. Gluscevic has 12 assists on the season, and 28 points, while Trujic increased his assist total to nine, and Hashimoto registered his first assist. Milosevic made a career-high seven saves. Missouri Valley overcame a two-goal deficit to win for the second time this season. The previous time was back on Sept. 26, in a 4-3 win over Graceland (Iowa).
Missouri Valley moves to 16-4-2 on the season, while Keiser finishes its season at 16-2-1.
Missouri Valley advances to the National semifinal round of the 2020 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship, and will play the winner of the Cumberlands (Ky.)/Central Methodist (Mo.) quarterfinal match, Saturday at 2 p.m., CT.
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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