No. 11 Men's Soccer Holds Off Mount Mercy in Home Win

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 14, 2024)- The Nationally ranked Missouri Valley College soccer teams hosted Mount Mercy (Iowa) in the opening Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader of the season inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium, Saturday afternoon.  The No. 23 women's team built up an early lead, and finished with a 5-1 win.  The No. 11 men's team held off a late rally from the Mustangs in a 3-2 victory.

The men's game started with Mount Mercy nearly pulling on front with one minute played, creating a corner kick that eventually led to a shot which hit off the MVC post and away from goal.  Missouri Valley followed with the better of possession over the next several minutes.  Senior Forward Sam Green (London, England) had the ball near midfield, and with the MMU keeper out of possession, sent a long-range shot into an empty goal to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead four minutes into the contest.  Just over one minute later, the pair of Junior Forward Leul Alfagame (Madrid, Spain) and Sophomore Forward Kerim Akpinar (Bremen, Germany) teamed up to create a chance in the center of the box for Green.  Green's shot was deflected at the goal line, and went into the net to extend the advantage to 2-0.  Senior Goalkeeper Marcal Aspas (Barcelona, Spain) was called on for his first save of the half, near the eight-minute mark to keep Mount Mercy scoreless.  The two teams traded possession over the next stretch of play, and Aspas made another save, with 15-minutes remaining until halftime.  Senior Forward Malik Hasanovic (Skopje, North Macedonia) nearly extended the lead in the final two minutes, as a shot on goal was saved.  The Mustangs pushed through in the closing seconds of the half, and cut their deficit in half with a goal to send the teams into the break with a 2-1 score.

The opening stages of the second half featured a shot on goal from Senior Forward Luka Perendija (Obrenovac, Serbia) with nearly nine minutes played, which was saved, as the first attempt on goal.  Seven minutes later, the Viking lead grew, as Green assisted on a goal from Senior Midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan) to make it 3-1.  Mount Mercy again responded, and trimmed its deficit down to 3-2 on a goal near the 73-minute mark.  Just over four minutes later, a hard foul in the MVC box resulted in a red card shown to a Mustang player, forcing Mount Mercy to play the final 13-minutes down one player.  Missouri Valley kept MMU from creating any more quality chances through the rest of play.  Alfagame and Green both had late shots on goal saved, and the Vikings eventually finished out a 3-2 victory. 

Green finished with two goals and one assist, while Igarashi scored the game-winning goal.  Green now has six goals and 14 total points on the season, while Igarashi has two goals and six points.  Strahinja Durdic, Alfagame and Akpinar all added one assist.  Aspas made two saves in goal.  Missouri Valley got off nine shots in the game, and created two corner kicks.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 4-1-1 on the season, and 1-0 in the Heart.  Mount Mercy drops to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams host Central Methodist (Mo.) in a Heart doubleheader, Tuesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Nationally ranked women's match up will start at 5 p.m., as the Eagles are ranked No. 6.  The men's game follows at 7:30 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.

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