No. 16 Men's Soccer Earns Homecoming Shutout Win Over No. 14 William Penn

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 14, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams hosted William Penn (Iowa) in a Homecoming doubleheader Saturday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The No. 20 women's team pulled away late for a 4-0 win, while the No. 16 men's team scored three goals in the second half to secure a 4-0 victory over the No. 14 Statesmen.

The men's game started with an early chance on goal created by William Penn, as Junior Goalkeeper Marcal Aspas (Barcelona, Spain) came up with the save just over one minute into play.  The teams traded possession over the next stretch, and WPU created another quality chance near the midway point of the half, forcing Aspas into another save.  Missouri Valley had its first chance on goal near the 31-minute mark, and scored on the opportunity as Junior Forward Sam Green (Bromley, England) set up Freshman Forward Kerim Akpinar (Bremen, Germany) with his first goal of the night to move the team in front, 1-0.  Both teams were unable to create another shot on goal through the remaining minutes of the first half, and went into the break with a 1-0 score line.

Play at the start of the second half featured the teams trading possession through the 64-minute mark.  There, the Vikings added to their lead as Sophomore Forward Leul Alfageme Nadela (Madrid, Spain) assisted Akpinar on another goal to make it 2-0.  William Penn was held to without a shot on goal over the next stretch of play, and Missouri Valley eventually added to its lead.  Senior Defender Kazuki Hashimoto (Tokyo, Japan) went on a long run from the MVC box to the Statesmen box.  He sent a cross to the center of goal from 12 yards out, and Akpinar scored again, registering his second hat-trick of the season, as the lead sat at 3-0 with just over 10 minutes to play in the contest.  Aspas needed to make one more save late in the half, with less than eight minutes remaining, while Junior Midfielder Malik Hasanovikj (Skopje, North Macedonia) assisted a goal from Green moments later to finish out the 4-0 victory for Missouri Valley.

Akpinar now has six goals on the season, and recorded his second hat-trick in a week, scoring three goals in the win over Baker on Oct. 7.  Green added his seventh goal and fifth assist of the season, to go with 19 total points, all team-highs.  Hasanovikj now has five assists, Alfageme Nadela has three assists and Hashimoto now has one assist on the season.  Aspas made three saves in goal to record his first shutout.  Missouri Valley held a 9-8 edge in shots and produced two corner kicks.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 8-4 overall and 7-1 in the Heart.  William Penn drops to 9-2-4 on the season and 4-1-3 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams will host Clarke (Iowa) in a Heart doubleheader, Oct. 21, inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  Women's game starts at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 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.